The Australian carrier will restart the Heathrow-Melbourne route from 6 November – six weeks earlier than the original planned resumption of 18 December.

Initially the service will operate two days per week using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft before increasing to a daily flight from 18 December.

Qantas had already decided to bring forward the restart of its London-Sydney flights to 1 November.

The moves have been made possible by the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in both Sydney and Melbourne, particularly the removal of quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers from November.

Initially, international flights will be limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their families in line with federal government rules.

Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said: “It’s great to see Melbourne reopening and the decision by the Victorian government to remove quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers will make it easier for people to take the trips they’ve been longing to take.

“We’ve immediately brought forward our flights from Melbourne to Singapore and London in response.”

The airline added that bookings on its London-Sydney services had been “extremely strong” and, as a result, has added more than 10 return flights on the route “due to demand from Australians coming home in time for Christmas”.

Qantas’ London flights will operate via Darwin in the Northern Territory until at least April 2022.