Qantas adds stop to long-haul London flight amid Iran conflict

The only year-round, non-stop flight between Australia and the UK is currently not flying directly due to the Middle East conflict.

Qantas’s 17-and-a-half-hour flight between Perth and London has been operating since 2018, offering a direct journey of more than 9,000 miles.

However, the Australian airline announced this week that a layover in Singapore has been temporarily added to the journey.

Qantas said that due to the evolving conflict in the Middle East, flight QF9 from Perth to London will operating via Singapore for a fuel stop due to adjustments required on flight paths.

The brief stop in Singapore, which was added to the flight on Tuesday, 3 March, is also helping accommodate up to 60 more passengers and their bags.

Many flight paths have been affected due to various airspace and airport closures within the Middle East as conflict between Israel, the US and Iran escalated this week.

“The safety of our customers and crew is our highest priority, and where necessary, we may adjust our flight paths accordingly,” the airline said.

“If your Qantas-operated flight is affected, we will contact you as soon as possible using the phone number and email address provided in your booking.”

The airline is also offering additional flexibility for customers who have booked flights to, from or via the UAE, Qatar, Israel, Jordan and Oman through Qantas on partner airlines.

Customers can change their booking, or claim a refund or flight credit, for flights booked on or before 1 March for travel between 28 February and 15 March 2026 (when rebooking to travel on or before 27 March 2026, subject to availability.)

Thousands of Britons have been stranded in Australia as the Gulf airspace shutdown this week amid the travel chaos.

Some travellers have spent thousands of pounds trying to find their way back home. Gill and Alf Oliver from Leicestershire told the Independent that they paid £10,000 to return to the UK after their planned flights from Sydney to Doha were grounded.

The couple eventually found seats on Qantas from Sydney to San Francisco, then a British Airways connection to London Heathrow.

Tens of thousands of travellers also remain stranded across the Middle East as a result of the grounding of most commercial flights across the region.

The first UK government rescue flight to bring home Britons caught in the crisis was delayed overnight in Oman.

Home Office minister Alex Norris said the government-chartered flight was delayed due to an issue getting passengers on board and may depart later on Thursday, 5 March instead.

Read more: British couple spend almost £10k for flights home from Sydney