15 Nov 2022

Adelaide flying high with international flight boost

Adelaide is flying high, with international airlines upping their flights into South Australia’s capital city and international aviation capacity at its highest since the start of the pandemic.

International airline schedules are currently 65 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Boosts to airline schedules by Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Airlines will increase weekly international flights to above 90 per cent by January.

The surge in international flights into Adelaide comes as domestic airline flights have exceeded pre-COVID levels – at 105 per cent when compared to the same period in 2019.

Getting underway in Adelaide today, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) National Conference and Industry Expo 2022 will bring together the nation’s airport chiefs and industry leaders.

More than 750 delegates are expected to meet to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the sector, including sustainability and technology.

Upcoming boosts to international flight schedules into Adelaide include:

  • Qatar Airways will fly daily from Doha to Adelaide and onto Auckland from 22 January – increasing from five flights weekly
  • Singapore Airlines will up its daily flights to 10 flights per week from 2 January to meet demand for the Santos Tour Down Under
  • Later this month, Malaysia Airlines will move from three to five flights per week
  • From mid-December, Virgin Australia will once again fly from Bali, with daily flights from Denpasar to Adelaide until late January and three times weekly thereafter.

In addition to the international flight boost, Virgin Australia is set to resume its direct flights from Tasmania next month, with both Hobart to Adelaide and Launceston to Adelaide to run three times weekly.

Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison said as the state continues to grow direct flights into Adelaide, it means more visitors and tourism dollars for South Australia.

"With Qatar soon flying daily, and both Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines ramping up their schedules, it means even greater access to markets across Europe, New Zealand and Asia – including markets like the UK and Singapore worth $72 million and $97 million respectively to our state," Minister Bettison said.

"Greater connectivity is crucial as we work to reclaim our state’s $1.2 billion international market, so it is tremendous to have such strong growth in international airline seats into Adelaide."

Adelaide Airport Managing Director, Brenton Cox said it is wonderful to see Qatar Airways flights returning to daily for the first time in almost three years, and with the additional benefit of a connecting service through to Auckland.

"We’re excited to see further growth in our international network. It comes as our international passenger numbers are now well above 50 per cent of where we were pre-COVID and continuing to climb," Mr Cox said.

"Flights to Doha offer excellent connections to European destinations, while the onward services from Adelaide to Auckland are proving very popular.

"Our local exporters seeking aviation freight links via New Zealand and Doha can benefit from the consistent daily connections to major trading partners around the globe."