A major airline has finalized plans to eliminate a popular route that has been in operation for almost three decades, leaving many Australian travelers scrambling to find alternative plans.
Emirates announced on Monday that direct flights between Melbourne and Singapore will end on March 30 next year.
The news first emerged in September, but the date was not revealed at the time.
At the same time as the popular route ceases, Emirates will begin a third non-stop service from Melbourne to Dubai.
Passengers holding tickets on the Singapore-Melbourne route after March 30 will be offered alternative travel arrangements or receive a full refund from Emirates.
But Australian travelers who have already booked flights now fear their trip is at risk if they cannot make alternative arrangements.
Chelsea Carden was booked to fly business class from Melbourne to Singapore with Emirates, before boarding an Air France flight to Paris next June.
He used his Qantas points he had saved up for years to secure the flights.
Emirates to scrap flights between Melbourne and Singapore after 28 years of service on route
“I can’t believe they haven’t told us anything yet,” Mrs. Carden said. news.com.au.
“Now I will have to find a new flight to get to Singapore and catch our flight to Paris.”
Once the Melbourne resident realized she needed to find new flights, she started searching immediately, but tickets that could be purchased with Qantas points were “very expensive”.
Qantas is in the process of contacting customers to help them find alternative travel plans or issue a refund.
Emirates currently has two daily non-stop flights between Dubai and Melbourne using the airline’s A380 aircraft.
These will become three daily flights from March 30 after a refurbished Boeing 777 is added to the route.
The addition of the additional aircraft means Emirates will have a staggering 3,472 weekly premium economy seats in Melbourne and Sydney.
The renovated Boeing 777 has eight first class suites, 40 seats in business class and 25 in economy class, in addition to 24 seats in premium economy class.
Emirates will not stop its route between Singapore (pictured) and Dubai
Emirates said the third daily non-stop flight from Melbourne will give passengers “more convenient times and options” to travel to Dubai and then Europe.
The airline also has multiple daily flights from Dubai to 27 European cities, including London, Paris and Frankfurt.
Despite suspending the route from Melbourne to Singapore, Emirates will continue to operate its Singapore-Dubai route but with new flight numbers.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Emirates and Qantas for comment.