'Best news': Qantas CEO Alan Joyce unveils new international flights

Australia's borders will reopen at the beginning of next month, over 18 months after COVID-19 prompted an abrupt end to international travel.

The 47,100 Australian stranded overseas will be prioritised for inbound flights, but news overseas holidays are back on has prompted a scramble for outbound tickets.

Qantas has brought forward departures to just ten days' time. Pent-up demand prompted the biggest day of redemptions in its history, with half a billion points cashed in.

CEO Alan Joyce described the past 20 months as the "darkest period" in Qantas' history, but confirmed all staff will return before Christmas.

"[This is] the biggest and the best news that we have had in two years," he said on Friday.

The airliner's first international long-haul flight since March 2020 will take off from Sydney en route to London on November 1.

That will trigger a staggered reopening of its traditional routes, with Australians able to head to a range of destinations across Europe, Asia, and Africa by early next year.

But with each setting its own requirements for quarantine and testing, some uncertainty remains over what international travel will look like.

Here's what you'll face when you head overseas.

The UK and US for starters.

Qantas flights between Sydney-London and Sydney-Los Angeles are the first cabs off the rank, beginning on November 1.

People are eager, too: the first flight to London booked out just hours after it was put up for sale.

That will be followed by flights to Singapore from November 23, Fiji from December 7, and Johannesburg from January 5.

People looking to travel to Thailand won't have to wait much longer, with flights resuming in mid-January (Phuket from January 12, and Bangkok two days later).

A new route to Delhi, via Darwin, is also pencilled-in for December 6, but that's pending approval from India.

Flights between Melbourne and London return on November 6, six weeks ahead of schedule. Flights between Melbourne and Singapore have been brought forward, too, and resume on November 22.

Talks are ongoing over when Australians will be able to travel to Bali. The island welcomed back foreign tourists a week ago, but there are currently no direct flights from any Australian airports.

International travel from Canberra Airport, which serviced flights to Singapore and Qatar, is still some way off.

Kids are exempt.

Anyone aged 12 or over will need to prove they've received two doses of an approved COVID-19 jab. That includes the three currently available in Australia - AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna - along with Johnson & Johnson.

Australian passport and visa-holders can currently apply for an International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate. Applications can be made as soon as they've received a first dose. It can be accessed through their Medicare online account or the Express Plus Medicare app on their mobile.

You'll need one, but the details remain murky.

Passengers will have to have to test negative within 72 hours of departure, using a 'gold standard' PCR test.

Australians can access rapid antigen tests, which are less accurate but produce a result within half an hour, on the same day the borders open. But it's unclear whether they'll be enough for a pre-departure test.

Depends on where you're going.

The Prime Minister confirmed talks with Singapore over a quarantine-free travel bubble are in their final stages, and could be finalised within the next week.

You'll need to take a test within three days of arriving in the UK. Testing positive means ten days in isolation.

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The US requires a test 3-5 days after arrival. But a 14-day quarantine is only recommended, not required.

Bali requires arrivals to undergo five days in quarantine. No quarantine is required in Thailand, but you'll need insurance covering COVID-19 treatment.

Waiting with anticipation.

Qatar Airways is bringing back from Doha to Melbourne and Sydney on December 1. That aligns with Qantas flights to Los Angeles.

A spokesperson for Singapore Airlines has welcomed efforts to set-up a bubble with the city-state. They say the company will be "nimble" responding to any developments.

The airliner is currently running daily services to Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth. Three flights a week are running to Adelaide, along with one each week to Sydney. These are mainly for stranded Australians.

It ceased flights to and from Canberra, and movement was not expected before next year.

That varies depending on the day.

But Qantas economy return flights between Sydney and London begin at $1714. They're a bit pricier between Sydney and Los Angeles, beginning at $2009.