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Australian Qantas canceled its international flights until October. New Zealand may be the exception

“With Australia’s borders remaining closed for some time, we canceled most international flights until late October,” Qantas said in a statement on Thursday.

A Qantas spokesman noted that the country’s Minister of Tourism, Simon Birmingham, recently said that Australia’s international borders with most countries are unlikely to be reopened until 2021.

There is one possible exception: New Zealand, Australia’s neighbor across the Tasman Sea. The politicians discussed the possibility of creating a travel corridor between the two countries – although nothing has been officially agreed yet. Currently, anyone traveling between the two countries is subject to a two-week quarantine. With a few exceptions, non-residents of either country are prohibited from traveling on these routes.

A & # 39; Travel bubble ' Between New Zealand and Australia could be a model for the future
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison: “If there is any country in the world that we can communicate with first, there is no doubt that it is New Zealand.” He said in April.

Qantas said she still had “some flights” scheduled between the two countries “in the coming months.”

“If travel between Australia and other countries is open and a return request is required, we can add more flights to our schedule,” the airline added.

The coronary virus pandemic has wreaked havoc on airlines around the world and caused $ 84 billion in losses to the industry this year. According to the International Air Transport Association.
Qantas reported in February that the virus Profits can be reduced by up to A $ 150 million ($ 100 million) In the second half of its fiscal year, although it was long before the full epidemic occurred. Qantas is not expected to record full year earnings for another two months.
The virus also forced Qantas’ only domestic competitor, Virgin Australia, To collapse to management earlier this year. The airline founded by billionaire billionaire Richard Branson is still working to find a buyer. virgin Still fly During that process.

Although Qantas cancels most of its international flights, a airline spokesman told CNN Business that it was still seeing an increasing demand for travel within Australia as domestic restrictions were slowly lifted. The number of domestic Qantas Group domestic passengers has doubled this week to 64,000.

– Julia Hollingsworth contributed to this report.

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