Qatar Airways returning to Auckland in June – via Adelaide

By Andrew Curran.

Qatar Airways will return to Auckland (AKL) in mid-June, operating via Adelaide (ADL). This is familiar territory for the carrier, which previously flew the fifth freedom route for 18 months during 2022 and 2023.

Qatar Airways suspended its Auckland and Adelaide flights in late February following the start of the Iran war. For a week, the airline halted services across its entire network and is now gradually rebuilding operations.

Qatar Airways gradually rebuilding operations

This week, Qatar Airways is operating more than 140 daily departures from Doha, well below the 500-plus daily flights it ran before the conflict began. However, the airline has resumed five of its seven weekly round trips to Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), and Perth (PER).

Schedules filed last week indicate that, subject to conditions in the Gulf not significantly changing, Qatar Airways plans to increase flights to Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth to daily services from 1 May.

The airline will also return to Brisbane (BNE) on the same date, initially operating four weekly round trips before increasing to daily flights in mid-June.

Qatar Airways returns to Adelaide and Auckland on June 17

On 16 June, a Boeing 777-200ER will depart Doha for Adelaide, marking the resumption of daily services to the South Australian capital. The aircraft will arrive the following afternoon before continuing to Auckland after a 90-minute stop.

The first Auckland–Doha services via Adelaide are scheduled to begin on 18 June.

The Adelaide–Auckland sector will provide an alternative to Air New Zealand, currently the only other airline operating the route during the winter season.

Qatar Airways has so far scheduled the Auckland services via Adelaide through to mid-September.

The airline has not confirmed when, or if, it will resume its Melbourne–Canberra tag service.

Virgin Australia to resume some Doha flights in mid-June

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia plans to resume operations using wet-leased Qatar Airways Boeing 777s in mid-June. Initially, it will restart daily Doha services from Sydney and Melbourne on 16 June. However, flights from Brisbane and Perth to Doha are not expected to resume until mid-September.

These flights are now available for booking. However, with the Iran conflict ongoing, the security situation remains uncertain and further disruptions to Qatar Airways’ operations, along with those of other airlines, could happen.

Photo: Qatar Airways.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com