Qantas has confirmed that its new seasonal Sydney–Perth–Paris Charles-de-Gaulle flights—scheduled to start on 20 April—will now make an intermediate stop in Singapore rather than operating nonstop between Western Australia and Europe. The decision, disclosed late on 10 April, follows the carrier’s earlier move to detour its flagship Perth–London ‘Kangaroo Route’ around the Red Sea airspace because of drone and missile activity linked to the Iran–Israel conflict. Under the revised plan the north-bound QF 33/35 Paris services will depart Sydney in the evening, refuel in Perth and continue to Singapore for a 90-minute transit before an overnight leg to Paris. South-bound services will operate Paris–Singapore–Perth–Sydney from 18 May, enabling aircraft-rotation and crew-rest efficiencies. The additional hop adds about two hours block time but allows Qantas to avoid the most volatile flight corridors while retaining a compelling one-stop option from Australia’s east-coast corporate market. Business-class and premium-economy passengers will have access to Singapore’s SilverKris lounges under Qantas’ growing partnership with Singapore Airlines, and economy travellers gain onward connectivity to 140 cities across Asia and Europe using a single ticket. Freight customers also benefit because Changi offers nightly wide-body belly-hold connections that Perth lacks. For corporates running mobility programmes, the change means itineraries that were filed months ago will now be re-ticketed; travel managers should re-issue approvals, advise travellers of longer duty periods, and check visa or health-declaration requirements for Singapore transit.
![Qantas reroutes upcoming Sydney–Perth–Paris service through Singapore as Middle-East conflict persists]()
Travellers unsure about whether they need a Singapore transit visa—or documentation for any other stops on complex itineraries—can simplify the process through VisaHQ. The service’s Australian portal (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) offers real-time visa guidance, electronic application tools and end-to-end document handling, helping both individual passengers and corporate travel teams stay fully compliant without wasted time.
The stop does not require clearing immigration provided passengers remain air-side, but transit-time counts toward total work-hours under many fatigue-risk management systems. Qantas says it will review the routing in late July. If regional tensions ease, the airline could revert to the original nonstop pattern in the northern-winter timetable, but executives concede that “Changi has proven its value as a resilient hub” and may feature more heavily in future network design.
Travellers unsure about whether they need a Singapore transit visa—or documentation for any other stops on complex itineraries—can simplify the process through VisaHQ. The service’s Australian portal (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) offers real-time visa guidance, electronic application tools and end-to-end document handling, helping both individual passengers and corporate travel teams stay fully compliant without wasted time.
The stop does not require clearing immigration provided passengers remain air-side, but transit-time counts toward total work-hours under many fatigue-risk management systems. Qantas says it will review the routing in late July. If regional tensions ease, the airline could revert to the original nonstop pattern in the northern-winter timetable, but executives concede that “Changi has proven its value as a resilient hub” and may feature more heavily in future network design.
