Qantas to resume flying from London in November

First flights will be from Heathrow to Sydney for a fare of £1,048 – or frequent flyer points

Dream flight? Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner, to be used from London to Sydney (Qantas)

Australia’s național airline has put flights on sale from the UK a month earlier than expected.

On Friday morning, Scott Morrison, the prime minister, announced Australian citizens and residents would be able to travel internationally without special permission to leave or hotel quarantine to return.

Within hours, Qantas brought forward its first departure from London Heathrow to Sydney to 18 November. Previously the resumption was set for 19 December.

A one-way ticket in economy class costs £1,048 at present, but the airline said “frequent flyers can access uncapped Classic Flight Reward seats across all cabins”.

All passengers will be required to be fully vaccinated and have a PCR test 72 hours before departure.

Qantas will initially operate three weekly return flights between London, Singapore and Sydney with Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

The same frequency will be used between Los Angeles and Sydney. The airline said London and LA were the most searched-for international routes in recent weeks. More flights could be added to meet demand.

But Qantas warned: “Once the Federal Government announces the exact date that Australia’s international borders will reopen in November, the commencement dates for these two routes may need to be updated.

“Flights will be brought forward if it’s earlier than 14 November or moved to later in the month if necessary.”

Arriving travellers will be required to self-isolate at home for a week.

The Qantas Group chief executive, Alan Joyce, said: “The early reopening of Australia’s international borders will mean so much to so many people and it’s made possible by the amazing ramp up of the vaccine rollout.

“We’d already sold out some of our international flights for December and seen strong demand on flights to and from London and Los Angeles, so we’re confident there will be a lot of interest in these earlier services.”

International visitors continue to be banned from travelling to Australia. Scott Morrison did not mention visiting families or tourists.