You’ve more chances of dating an influencer than jetting off internationally right now.
The only way to escape Australia is via seeking an exemption to bounce on “essential and unavoidable” personal business, to seek medical treatment, or to leave due to “humanitarian” or “compassionate” grounds.
In other words: sipping mojitos while listening to house music in an infinity pool is not a human right.
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However: if you were to fake a family emergency and jump on a Qatar Airways flight out of here (it’s barely crossed our minds, honest) and get to Qatar, as of Wednesday the 3rd of July, from Doha, you can fly to Bali (and 40 other destinations).
As The Bali Sun reports, “Qatar Airways resumed daily flights to Bali from Doha [last] Wednesday.”
“The daily flights depart from Doha’s Hamad International Airport (HIA) at 12:45 a.m. and arrive at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar at 3:45 p.m. Meanwhile its QR961 flight will take off from Bali at 10 p.m. and land in Doha at 2:35 a.m. the day after.”
Qatar Airways has also announced the flights will be on a Boeing 787-8 with space for 22 business class and 232 economy class passengers.
The Doha-based carrier has also revealed plans to increase flights to Jakarta from Doha with 11-weekly services starting on July 7th.
“Qatar Airways has shown to be a responsible and reliable airline during this COVID-19 pandemic and we are delighted to resume services to Bali, one of the most visited tourist destinations, along with an increased flight frequency to Jakarta. We would very much like to support the recovery of tourism in Indonesia and look forward to the return of international leisure travel,” said Qatar Airways VP for Southeast Asia Jared Lee.
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As DMARGE reported in May, Qatar Airways is taking its role as one of the only carriers to continue significant operations throughout this time seriously. Qatar Airways has introduced full body personal protective equipment (PPE) for its cabin crew, which includes gloves, face masks, safety glasses and protective gowns fitted over their uniforms (in a move reminiscent of Naomie Campbell).
It is also providing complimentary protective kits for all passengers (think: face mask, gloves and hand sanitizer) as well as distributing disposable face shields for adults and children at the check-in counters at Hamad International Airport or at the boarding gates in other destinations.
All that said, before you get your togs out (or before you joing a charity and find a “humanitarian” reason to leave the country), The Bali Sun reports that “although flights have resumed, Bali has not made any announcements on when tourists will be able to visit the island again.”
“Visa on arrivals were suspended by the Indonesian government when it banned all tourism do to the pandemic.”
This clashes somewhat spectacularly with previous announcements, which suggested Indonesian officials were all hands on deck making plans to entice tourists back to the island.
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Here’s hoping the situation for Bali – and the world over – takes a turn for the better soon. That cocktail awaits.