The service, operated by a 787-9 Dreamliner, will be the first regular passenger service to directly link Europe to Australia. The flight will take 17 hours.

Qantas Group chief executive, Alan Joyce, said: “When Qantas created the Kangaroo Route between London and Australia in 1947, it took four days and nine stops.

“This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft.

“Travellers from Europe have never had a direct link down under before, so the opportunities this opens for them to explore Australia are huge.”

Joyce said due to the length of the flight, there will be features in economy class “that other airlines reserve for premium economy”.

The new flight will operate through Qantas’ existing domestic terminals (T3/4) in Perth, which will be upgraded to accommodate international flights.

The airline’s current international services from Perth (to Singapore and to Auckland) will also move to this terminal.

“We’ll be looking at the timing of our domestic flights through Perth to offer the best connections we can to our international flights, particularly given they will all be under the one roof,” added Joyce.

Seats on the London-Perth flights will go on sale in April 2017 for the first services in March 2018.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners will carry 236 passengers across business, premium economy and economy cabins.