British Airways is halting flights to Sydney. According to the airline's booking engine, the last flight it will operate from London will be on the 6th of April, landing in Sydney on the 8th.

Towards the end of last week, Qantas halted its daily Airbus A380 service from Sydney to London. Prior to this, it had been routed via Darwin. However, for the time being, it appeared as though British Airways would continue this vital lifeline between London and Sydney. However, from the 7th of April, it appears as though no Sydney bound aircraft will depart from London.

Singapore Sydney suspension

British Airways has stopped selling flight tickets from London to Sydney from the 7th of April onwards. Due to the time zone differences, this means that the last flight will depart from Sydney on the 8th of April.

The Sydney flight currently stops in Singapore. However, British Airways will also be suspending its Singapore and Hong Kong flights, according to Executive Traveller. Simple Flying has contacted British Airways for comment on this story. It will be updated when a response is received.

British Airways, Sydney, Flight Suspension
Economy seats are unavailable on the last flight. Image: British Airways Website

Economy seats are currently unavailable on the last flight out of Sydney. However, Premium Economy, Business, and First tickets are still on sale. These are currently on sale for 4056AUD (£2003.10, $2484.53), 7576AUD (£3741.50, $4640.73), and 8005AUD (£3,953.37, 4903.52) respectively.

However, earlier today the UK's Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said that £75 million would be spent on helping Brits to come home to the country.

A historic route

The route between London and Sydney is certainly a historic one. In fact, it even has its own name: 'the Kangaroo route'. Initially, in 1935, the route operated from London to Brisbane. Passengers would swap from Imperial Airways to Qantas in Singapore.

By 1947, the route took 55 flight hours across seven legs. London to Tripoli, to Cairo, to Karachi, to Calcutta, to Singapore, to Darwin, before finally touching down in Sydney. It gained its name due to the number of hops the aircraft made.

However, fast forward to the start of 2020, and two airlines were operating the route with one stop in Singapore. In the future, Qantas wants to operate the route non-stop.

British Airways, Long Haul, Grounded
69 British Airways aircraft have not flown in the past two days. Photo: Getty

Challenging times

The aviation industry is currently facing an unprecedented crisis. As a result of the ongoing global situation, flights have been affected by a huge fall in demand, tied with government-issued travel bans.

This has presented three large challenges for airlines. A fall in passenger demand has meant that it has become difficult for airlines to justify many routes from both an environmental and economic standpoint. However, with government travel restrictions, airlines are simply unable to operate a number of routes.

Are you due to fly on one of British Airways' Sydney, Singapore, or Hong Kong flights? Will you be affected by the change in plans? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.