International passenger flights from Victoria take off for first time since March 2020

The first international passenger flight from Victoria in more than 18 months took off on Monday as the state recorded 1,029 cases of COVID-19 overnight.

Qantas welcomes travellers back on board to its international passenger flights to Singapore as part of the new travel bubble.

Qantas welcomes travellers back on board to its international passenger flights to Singapore as part of the new travel bubble. Source: Qantas/Twitter

Victoria has recorded 1,029 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths, as the state's first international passenger flight since the start of the pandemic left Melbourne.

Fight QF35 took off from Melbourne Airport for Singapore just after midday on Monday, as part of a two-way travel bubble arrangement.

It's the first international passenger flight from Melbourne since March 2020, with flights to London and Los Angeles set to resume in the coming weeks.
Qantas has also announced a new passenger route from Melbourne to Delhi, starting on 22 December.

Before the pandemic, international flights brought more than three million international visitors to Victoria each year, injecting $8.8 billion into the state's economy.

Minister for Tourism and Trade Martin Pakula said the resumption of international flights will drive the recovery of the state's aviation sector, which employs about 6,700 people.

This will benefit the high-value export industry, which supports 23,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes $3.4 billion to Victoria's gross state product.
Mr Pakula said the Melbourne-Delhi flight will help "revitalise trade, tourism, international education, skilled migration and business connections".

It comes as Victoria draws closer to hitting its 90 per cent vaccination target, with about 89 per cent of Victorians aged 12 and over having received both vaccine doses.

Some 3,510 doses were administered at state-run hubs on Sunday, while 49,818 tests were processed.

There are 9,533 active cases in Victoria with 316 people in hospital, pushing down the seven-day average to 327.
Forty-four people in intensive care are actively infected and 23 are on a ventilator.

The Victorian government eased a raft of restrictions on Friday, having expected to reach the 90 per cent vaccination target at the weekend.

The three deaths takes the toll in Victoria since the start of the pandemic to 1,280.


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Published 22 November 2021 11:50am
Updated 22 November 2021 2:35pm
Source: AAP, SBS



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