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Qantas is offering refunds for Australians who booked an overseas flight only for the federal government to extend the ban on international holidays.
Health Minister Greg Hunt announced on Thursday that Australians would be banned from flying abroad to see family or friends until December 17.
The ban on overseas travel was extended for another three months, prolonging the prohibition on overseas holidays that has been in place since March 2020.
The government announcement was made a week after Qantas announced that from mid-December, it would restart flights from Australia to first-world destinations with high vaccination rates including the United States, Canada, the UK, Singapore, Japan and New Zealand, along with Fiji.
Qantas is offering refunds for Australians who booked an overseas flight only for the federal government to extend the ban on international holidays
Qantas had assumed 80 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over would be fully vaccinated a fortnight before Christmas, and last week made flights available to Singapore.
But with overseas travel delayed, the flying kangaroo is advising customers to wait to be contacted.
'If you have an existing booking for an international flight that is impacted by these restart plans, we'll be in contact to provide you with a number of options, including a refund for any flights cancelled by us,' Qantas said.
'Don't take any action and wait to hear from us with the options available to you.'
Despite the delay, Australians may be able to fly overseas before Christmas as Western Australia and Queensland, still aiming for zero case numbers.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday hinted he could envisage states being allowed to accept overseas visitors again before Christmas even as some states banned Australians from visiting.
