Qatar Airways to increase Doha – Melbourne flights from once-daily to double-daily starting 1 October via a strategic agreement between the Victorian Government and the airline
The additional Melbourne schedule includes an onward leg to Canberra, officially resuming connection between Doha and Australia’s Capital
Qatar Airways will operate a total of 40 weekly flights to six Australian cities with this network enhancement, bringing the airline’s gateways in Australia to exceed pre-pandemic level
DOHA, Qatar – Qatar Airways will be increasing its Doha – Melbourne flights from the current once-daily schedule to double-daily flights from 1 October with the support of the Victorian Government. The airline and the Victorian Government signed a strategic agreement to increase connectivity to Melbourne to further boost trade and tourism.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Melbourne is the original home for Qatar Airways in Australia, and we are excited to enhance our operations there, as a testament to both strong demand and our deep commitment to Australia. We look forward to welcoming more passengers to experience our five-star hospitality, as travel to and from Melbourne to many cities worldwide via our Doha hub in Qatar. The launch of the additional daily flight to Melbourne ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will allow more football fans travel to attend their respective matches.”
Minister for Industry Support and Recovery, Ben Carroll, said: “Backing international aviation supports our economy and we will continue to work with airlines like Qatar Airways to establish and expand routes into Melbourne to boost local jobs.”
Melbourne Airport Chief Executive Officer, Lorie Argus, said: “There is huge demand for international travel out of Melbourne, and these extra services couldn’t come at a better time with the soccer World Cup kicking off in November. It’s exciting to see airlines like Qatar Airways adding more capacity into Melbourne, given they are a global airline and could send their aircraft anywhere it’s a huge vote of confidence in our city. Qatar Airways is already a favourite with passengers heading to the Middle East or Europe, and given their partnerships with both Virgin Australia and Qantas, we expect these new flights will prove very popular.”
The additional Melbourne schedule includes an onward leg to Canberra, officially resuming a once-daily connection between Doha and Canberra starting 1 October. The added daily schedule will be operated by Boeing 777-300ER, featuring its award-winning QSuite Business Class. The airline will operate a total of 40 weekly flights to Australia with this network enhancement.
With the newest addition, the airline will operate to six destinations in Australia including Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Sydney. This will exceed Qatar Airways’ pre-pandemic footprint of five gateways in Australia, following the addition of Brisbane services started early 2020 during the global pandemic.
Qatar Airways has recently announced its strategic partnership with Virgin Australia, which will offer increased travel options and benefits across 35 destinations in its extensive domestic network, as well as to its recently relaunched short-haul international markets, including Fiji and Queenstown, New Zealand.
Qatar Airways has maintained its Australian services throughout the pandemic, whilst launching services to Brisbane in early 2020 to provide essential connectivity. It has carried over 330,000 passengers in and out of Australia during the pandemic between March 2020 to December 2021 via both commercial flights and special chartered services. Qatar Airways Cargo has also played a crucial part supporting Australia’s imports and exports industry during the pandemic, by being one of the very few global airlines that never stopped flying. Currently, Qatar Airways Cargo carries over 1,900 tonnes of cargo to and from Australia per week.
The national carrier of the State of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 150 destinations. With more frequencies being added to key hubs, Qatar Airways offers unrivalled connectivity to passengers, making it easy for them to connect to a destination of their choice.
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was announced as the ‘Airline of the Year’ at the 2021 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. It was also named ‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Airline Seat’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Onboard Catering’ and ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’. The airline continues to stand alone at the top of the industry having won the main prize for an unprecedented sixth time (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021).
About Qatar Airways
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways won the ‘World’s Best Airline’ for an unprecedented ninth time at the 2025 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. Qatar Airways was previously named the World’s Best Airline in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2024.
The airline continues to be synonymous with excellence, and has yet again received recognition for ‘World's Best Business Class’, and ‘World's Best Business Class Airline Lounge’. As the leading connector in the region, Qatar Airways has also been lauded with the ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’ title for the 13 time.
Qatar Airways currently flies to over 170 destinations worldwide, connecting through its Doha hub, Hamad International Airport, the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ for 11 consecutive years, as well as ‘World’s Best Airport Shopping’ for the third year in a row, as voted by Skytrax. Hamad International Airport has previously been named the ‘World’s Best Airport’ by Skytrax in 2021, 2022, and 2024.
Qatar Airways was the first Airline in the Middle East to be certified to the highest level of IATA’s Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) programme, based on recognised environmental management system principles (such as ISO 14001). As an inaugural signatory to the Buckingham Palace Declaration in March 2016, Qatar Airways became the first airline globally to be certified to the industry standard for the prevention of illegal wildlife trafficking in aviation.
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