Jake Nelson

Speaking to media on Monday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said around 115,000 Australians are currently in the Middle East region, and that the resumption of commercial flights would be the government’s preferred method for repatriating them given the scale of the problem.

Airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha – all major hubs for travel between Australia and Europe – remain closed, with both Dubai International and Abu Dhabi airports having sustained damage. Flights from Australia to Europe through the Gulf have been turned back, diverted, or cancelled.

The next-generation jets, which boast a longer range than the 737-800s they are replacing, are already serving Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and will commence on Brisbane-Perth services in May.

The airline has been roiled by continued headaches with global engine maintenance delays; a “slower than expected” domestic recovery; and a weak NZ dollar, and says it expects second-half earnings to be “broadly in line with, or modestly below, the first half”.

Australia’s second-largest airline group saw underlying EBIT grow to $490 million, up 11.7 per cent on the first half of 2024–25, though statutory net profit after tax was down 27.9 per cent to $341 million due to the exhaustion of deferred tax credits accrued through losses from COVID-19.

The ASU, which is currently butting heads with the Flying Kangaroo over job cuts at the airline’s Mascot HQ, said it is “disappointed that Qantas has announced further redundancies at the same time they are unveiling a massive $1.46 billion profit”.