Qantas Airlines extends Brisbane Koror flight through 2026
BY MAUREEN N. MARATITA
Journal Staff
Qantas has extended its weekly direct flights between Brisbane and Koror for another year to December 2026 following the success of the route which Qantas commenced in December 2024.
A Qantas Airlines plane is guided to the jetway at Palau International Airport after its inaugural flight in Dec. 7, 2024. Journal files
RulukedAccording to an Aug. 19 release from Qantas, the service, known as the ‘Palau Paradise Express’, will continue to operate as part of a contract awarded to Qantas by the Australian government and “will help maintain strong trade, tourism and people to people links between Australia and Palau.” The extension comes in response to strong market demand and significant growth in Australian visitation since Qantas began operating the service, the airline said.
In the first six months of 2025, Palau recorded a 113% increase in visitor arrivals compared to the same period in 2024. Some 75% of Australians are visiting Palau as first-time travelers.
In 2024, Palau saw 56,184 visitors, including 1,498 visitors from Australia. By the end of June, 1,346 Australians had already visited Palau.
Kadoi Ruluked, director of the Palau Visitors Authority, said, "Australian travelers have really embraced the Qantas route, with many visiting Palau for the first time to explore our spectacular dive sites. Local tour operators are already seeing the benefits, with strong interest across a range of experiences from traditional sailing tours around the Rock Islands to WWII history adventures on Peleliu.” mbj
In Koror alone, there are about a dozen laundromats — a few within a five-minute walk of each other — driven by the country's tourism boom, an expanding hospitality sector, and a pandemic-era pivot toward residential customers.
KOROR, Palau — More than three decades after it was built, Palau’s only hospital is firmly on a path toward replacement. President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. convened the first meeting of the Belau National Hospital Relocation Steering Committee on May 14, marking the start of what officials are calling the implementation phase of a project that many say is long overdue.
The latest U.S. Government Accountability Office report of May 5 on the Freely Associated States focused on the fact that the three countries have not yet met certain oversight requirements established by the amended compacts, while U.S. oversight efforts are underway with some delays.
