Australians escaping the political turmoil in Egypt on government-organised flights will be offered free onward flights home, Qantas says.
The first of two Qantas evacuation flights organised by the Australian government will leave Cairo for Frankfurt at 4pm (local time) today.
The government organised a second Qantas emergency flight to help Australian citizens leave the strife-torn country after about 400 people registered for the first one.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce on Wednesday said arrangements would be made to offer free flights to passengers from either Frankfurt or London to Australia, depending on availability.
"Qantas is working closely with the Australian government to evacuate Australian citizens from Cairo on special charter flights to Europe," he said in a statement.
"We are proud to be able to help Australians affected by this crisis return home to family and friends."
Qantas is sending a team of specialised staff to support passengers on the ground in Cairo and Frankfurt. Government officials and Qantas staff on board the Cairo flight would collect the relevant details of passengers wishing to register for onward travel to Australia, Mr Joyce said.
Passengers must have travelled on the government flights from Cairo to Frankfurt and if offered a free flight out of London, they will need to make their own arrangements to travel from Frankfurt to London.
The second charter flight will depart Cairo on Thursday for Frankfurt.
Australians who have registered for evacuation assistance but who have not been confirmed on the first flight would be given priority for the second flight, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement on Tuesday.
Twenty-seven Australians arrived in Germany on Tuesday aboard two Canadian emergency flights from Cairo, where deadly protests against President Hosni Mubarak's regime continue to rage.
