Qantas temporarily reroutes Perth-London flights amid concern of Middle East escalation

Qantas has moved to temporarily reroute flights from Perth to London amid international fears of an Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel.

The airline says flights between the two cities will continue, but flight paths are being adjusted due to security threats in the Middle East.

The direct QF9 flight has been renamed QF209 and is expected to fly with a stopover in Singapore for the coming few days, while the return QF10 flight will continue to be a direct service.

Other flights to and from London remain unaffected.

The temporary change will extend the route’s 18-hour airtime to more than 21 hours, according to Qantas’ website.

“We’re temporarily adjusting the flight paths for our flights between Perth and London due to the situation in parts of the Middle East,” a Qantas spokeswoman said.

“We’ll reach out to customers directly if there’s any change to their booking.”

The move comes as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Smart Traveller website advises there is an increased threat of attacks against Israel or Israeli interests in the region.

“This may also result in airspace closures, flight cancellations and flight diversions, and other travel disruptions,” it warns.

“The security situation could deteriorate quickly, with little or no notice.”

On Friday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was deeply concerned by indications Iran is preparing military action against Israel.

“Tonight I spoke to Iran’s Foreign Minister to urge Iran to use its influence in the region to promote stability, not contribute to escalation,” she said.

“Further conflict will only add to the devastation in the Middle East.”

US President Joe Biden said he expected Iran to make a retaliatory attack “sooner, rather than later” following an air strike on Iran's embassy in Syria on April 1 that killed a senior military commander.

Israel did not claim responsibility for the incident but has been blamed by Iran.