Qantas will launch direct flights from Singapore to Darwin later this year, providing a massive tourism boost for Australia’s Northern Territory, more familiarly known as the Top End.
The flights will offer one-stop options from Europe and Asia to Darwin via Singapore and provide visitors to Australia with a northern gateway to access iconic experiences such as Kakadu National Park, Alice Springs and Uluru.
It is the first time for 18 years that Qantas has linked Singapore with Darwin.
From 9 December, flights will initially operate five days per week with the dual-class Embraer E190 aircraft, increasing to daily from March 2025.
The new route has been made possible by the establishment of the E190 base at Darwin Airport, with the size, range and economics of the aircraft opening up routes that that wouldn’t be viable with larger aircraft, including the launch of international flights to Dili in 2022.
History note: Darwin was the final Australia stop-over on the original Kangaroo Route from Australia to London in 1935. In those days, the flight from Darwin to Singapore took five stops and four and a half days versus a four hours and 45 minutes flight on the new direct service.