Singapore Airlines (SIA) has commemorated its Emerald anniversary of continuous service to Australia, with Tuesday 5 April 2022 marking 55 years to the day since SIA’s first flight down under.
Singapore Airlines is celebrating its long-standing commitment to the Australian market.
On 5 April 1967, Perth and Sydney became the first destinations outside South East and North Asia to join the Airlines’ network, when an MSA Boeing 707-320 fanjet arrived in Perth before continuing on its journey to Sydney.
The milestone comes in the midst of the most tumultuous period in the aviation industry’s history, which saw SIA maintain connectivity to the Australian market, despite up to 96% of its global capacity being grounded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President South West Pacific, Mr Louis Arul, said while work to rebuild the business continued, the historic milestone could not go unrecognised.
“The past two years have been incredibly challenging, but Singapore Airlines remained steadfast in its commitment to keeping Australia connected and today we mark 55 years of continuous service to Australia, a milestone we are incredibly proud of,” Mr Arul said.
“Australia has always been an important part of our global network and as we continue to rebuild and recover after the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support of the Australian public, the travel trade and the many and varied stakeholders and partners who have supported us over this period.
“Our commitment to these shores has been unwavering and as recovery for international travel continues, we look forward to increasing our services and providing Australians with a variety of travel options that allow them to once again reconnect with loved ones and explore the world.”
Since joining SIA’s global network in 1967, SIA and Australia have shared a number of historic firsts.
Australia played host to the first flight of the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, as SIA became the first to fly the customer-favourite in 2007.
Australia was also the first to receive SIA’s new A380 products in 2018 along with SIA’s first Airbus A350-900 medium-haul aircraft.
On 1 November 2021 SIA was the first airline to arrive in Sydney and Melbourne following the re-opening of Australia’s borders.
Currently, SIA operates 100 passenger flights a week from seven destinations in Australia, including Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin and Cairns.
