Qantas delays SA flights due to risk from re-entry of SpaceX rockets

Bengaluru — Australian flag carrier Qantas has had to delay several flights on the Sydney-Johannesburg route over the past few weeks on the US government’s advice regarding the re-entry of SpaceX rockets over a part of the southern Indian Ocean, the airline said on Tuesday.

The delays of up to six hours were caused due to last-minute changes in co-ordinates for the location and timing of re-entry of rockets from Elon Musk’s space technology firm.

“While we try to make any changes to our schedule in advance, the timing of recent launches have moved about at late notice which has meant we’ve had to delay some flights just before departure,” said Ben Holland, the head of Qantas’s operations centre.

“We’re in contact with SpaceX to see if they can refine the areas and time windows for the rocket re-entries to minimise future disruption,” Holland added.

Reuters