Qantas posts $1.7 billion loss and tips travel by Christmas

Qantas Group has posted a $1.7 billion pandemic-related annual loss and forecast Australia will reopen to international travel in December

CANBERRA, Australia -- Qantas Group posted a 2.35 billion Australia dollar ($1.7 billion) pandemic-related annual loss on Thursday and forecast Australia will reopen to international travel in December. The Sydney-based airline company said it expected flights to countries with high vaccination rates including the United States, Britain, Japan and Singapore would resume in mid-December. Flights to countries with lower vaccination rates including Indonesia, the Philippines and South Africa would restart from April next year at the earliest, Qantas said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange. “One of the biggest unknowns is the quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travelers entering Australia,” the statement said.