Qantas Will Fly Non-Stop From Sydney to Cape Town From October 2027, the First Direct Link Between the Two Cities

For 75 years the quickest way from Cape Town to Australia has involved a change of plane. That ends in October 2027, when Qantas plans to fly non-stop between Sydney and Cape Town, Australia's first scheduled non-stop link to Cape Town, with tickets that went on sale on 6 November.

The airline's announcement, covered by KarryOn and IOL, sets out a seasonal service rather than a year-round one, timed for the southern summer.

When do the Qantas Sydney to Cape Town flights start?

KarryOn reports that flights begin on 19 October 2027 and run until 24 March 2028, three times a week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The outbound flight, QF89, is listed as leaving Sydney at 9.15am and reaching Cape Town at 2.40pm local time, a scheduled flight time of about 14 hours 25 minutes. Return economy fares start from A$2,470.

The aircraft will be a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Both outlets link the route to the new 787-9s that Qantas expects to receive from late 2027 as part of what IOL calls the largest fleet renewal in its history. The airline says the route adds about 30,000 seats between Australia and South Africa across the season. Neither report mentions regulatory approval, so treat the schedule as the airline's plan as announced rather than as a finished timetable.

Why Cape Town, and why now?

Qantas gave several reasons. KarryOn says tens of thousands of its customers already connect to Cape Town through Johannesburg each year with its partner Airlink. Australians are also travelling there in growing numbers: more than 120,000 visited South Africa in 2025, and in June 2026 Australia became South Africa's third-largest overseas source market, with arrivals up 19 per cent on the year.