The mammoth Perth to London flight route has been reopened two years after the pandemic shut it down.
The first Qantas non-stop flight between the UK capital and western Australi a has just jetted off as of 6.50pm local time (11.50pm GMT).
In 17 hours and ten minutes time, and 9,010 miles later, it will touch down in Heathrow.
The route is the third longest non-stop flight in operation, just behind the 18 hour 50 minute Singapore to New York flight, and 18 hour 45 minute Singapore to Newark service.
The return of service today comes three years ahead of Qantas' latest route launching, which will connect Sydney and London and be the longest non-stop flight in the world in 19 hours and 19 minutes.
Flight QF9, operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, took off from Melbourne at 3.15pm local time today, before a stopover in Perth.
The first leg of the flight, which connects Melbourne and Perth, will take off at 3:15pm local time, and land in Perth four hours later.
The iconic Kangaroo route was launched in 2018.
The QF9 Perth-London route, the only current route that connects Australia and the UK, was originally scheduled to resume on 19 June, but has begun three weeks ahead of schedule.
It also comes as Qantas prepares for the launch of a new route from Perth to Rome on 22 June.
The popular Perth-London route has been on pause since the beginning of the pandemic, with Qantas shifting the layover stop from Perth to Darwin.
This decision was made due to Western Australia's relatively conservative boarded policies.
The Darwin to London service has been in commercial operation since Australia’s international border restrictions eased on 1 November 2021.
“With one of our flagship London routes heading back to Perth and the Rome take-off just around the corner, it’s clear that Western Australia is back on the international travel map,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
“We know that Western Australians love our direct flight to the UK and we’re seeing huge demand on these services already. It’s also terrific news for UK passengers who can stop off and enjoy all that the west coast has to offer.”
The airline’s QF1 route, which operates from Sydney-Singapore-London on the airline’s flagship A380 aircraft, will resume from 19 June.
As of Monday, Qantas will be operating QF1 from Melbourne-Perth-London six times per week – with flights departing every day except Thursdays.
