The carrier is due to restart the “Kangaroo" route between the UK and Australia on 14 November when Australia finally reopens its border.

Qantas will “temporarily reroute” these flights from Melbourne and Sydney to London via Darwin in the Northern Territory.

The Darwin “hub arrangement” will be in place until at least April 2022 when London flights are due to resume operating via Perth in Western Australia. The move to reroute UK flights via Darwin is being made because of current Covid-19 restrictions in Western Australia.

The Sydney-Darwin-London route will begin on 14 November, while the Melbourne-Darwin-London route is set to start on 18 December 2021.

But the date for the Melbourne route could be moved forward depending on discussions with the Victorian Government on shorter quarantine arrangements for returning travellers.

“While this is a temporary change to the route, Qantas will watch how it performs and is open-minded about what it could lead to down the track,” added the airline.

Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said the Darwin hub arrangement had been made possible with the support of the Northern Territory Government.

“The Kangaroo route is one of the most iconic on the Qantas international network and we are delighted that Darwin will play a vital role in Australia’s post-pandemic reopening to the world,” added Joyce.

“Qantas has been flying repatriation services from London to Darwin as part of the airline’s efforts to help bring Australians home over the past 12 months, so our pilots already have extensive experience operating this particular route.”