Qantas has made adjustments to its flight schedule between Darwin, Australia, and Singapore. The airline has postponed the introduction of Airbus A220-300 aircraft on this route until October.
According to AeroRoutes, from March 31, Qantas will operate four weekly flights between Darwin International Airport and Singapore Changi Airport using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. This change follows an initial plan to launch five weekly Embraer E190 services in December 2024, which were expected to become daily by March. However, due to pending government approvals, these plans did not materialize as scheduled.
From October 26, coinciding with the start of the International Air Transport Association’s winter season for 2025/2026, Qantas is set to switch operations on this route to the smaller Airbus A220-300.
Qantas announced its return to this route in January 2024, aiming to provide more than 60,000 seats annually for Northern Territory residents traveling to Singapore. This move also facilitates connections for passengers on Qantas’ QF1 ‘Kangaroo Route,’ which stops in Singapore en route to London Heathrow Airport.
“Qantas has a long history of flying between Darwin and Singapore, with Darwin being the final Australia stop-over on the original Kangaroo Route from Australia to London in 1935,” noted a spokesperson from Qantas. “In those days, the flight from Darwin to Singapore took five stops and four and a half days versus a four hours and 45 minutes flight on the new direct service.”
However, current booking systems show that travelers might still face up to two stops when flying from Darwin to Singapore due to connecting flights at Sydney and Melbourne airports.
“The new route has been made possible by the establishment of the E190 base at Darwin Airport,” stated Qantas officials. “The size, range and economics of the aircraft open up routes that wouldn’t be viable with larger aircraft.”
Data from Cirium’s Diio Mi airline planning tool indicates that since Jetstar Asia withdrew from this route in August 2022, Singapore Airlines has been the sole operator. It initially offered three weekly flights but increased them progressively—first to five per week in July 2023 and then daily by April 2024—using its 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
This adjustment marks another attempt by Qantas after filing preliminary timings for a daily E190 service back in December 2022.
