Nov. 16—SYDNEY — Australia's flagship airline Qantas is celebrating its 100th anniversary on Monday with a low-level flyover of Sydney Harbour.
Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services ( QANTAS) was founded in outback Queensland in 1920, initially to carry mail between country towns.
Its aim was to conquer the "tyranny of distance" that was a major barrier to the growth of modern Australia, Qantas said in a statement.
Today it is the oldest continuously-operating airline in the world, flying more than 50 million passengers a year.
Before the pandemic struck, Qantas was the only carrier to fly to every inhabited continent.
"Distance has always defined Australia. Between our cities and regional towns, and from the rest of the world. Qantas prided itself on closing that gap," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said.
The centenary celebrations have been scaled back due to the impacts of Covid-19, but the occasion will be marked with a low-level sunset flight.
It will pass over Sydney Harbour and near Rose Bay in the city's east, where the airline's Empire Flying Boats took off for Singapore between 1938 and 1942.
In response to the pandemic, this year the airline was forced to cut around 6,000 of its 29,000 workers and ground 95 per cent of its fleet.
"The history of Qantas shows it's no stranger to a challenge or a crisis. That's often when its role as the national carrier has really come to the fore," Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said.
"We want to use this moment to say thank you to all those who have supported Qantas over the years."
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