Qantas delays flights to avoid SpaceX rocket parts

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Qantas has been forced to postpone flights between Australia and South Africa after the US government warned of the risk of SpaceX rocket parts re-entering the atmosphere in the southern Indian Ocean.

Australia's flag carrier said on Tuesday it had postponed a number of flights between Sydney and Johannesburg over the past few weeks, with delays lasting between one and six hours.

Ben Holland, head of Qantas' operations center, said the timing of recent re-entries for some rockets owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX “changed at a moment's notice”, forcing the company to Airlines postponed some flights shortly before scheduled departures. .

He added: “We are in contact with SpaceX to see if they can optimize the area and time window for the rocket's return to minimize future disruption to passengers along the way.”

Few airlines fly across the remote southern Indian Ocean, but Qantas has been operating flights from South Africa to Australia since the early 1950s, known as the Wallaroo Route.

This is a route frequently used by tourists, South Africans living in Australia and mining industry executives.

The Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. regulator, issues licenses for all commercial space rocket launches and reentry operations in the U.S. and by U.S. companies abroad.

Rocket launches are often carefully calibrated to ensure that non-reusable parts splash down to remote areas of the ocean. The exact location will depend on the flight, with aircraft and ships being told to avoid the re-entry zone.

Qantas' warning comes as launch rates are expected to increase significantly as several new rockets enter the market.

Last year, a record 259 rocket launches were attempted around the world, 256 of which were successful.

SpaceX accounts for more than half of that number and is expected to accelerate launches this year as its giant Starship rocket enters service. This week, a seventh test flight is expected, although the date has been postponed before.

Rival rocket company Blue Origin, backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos, which is also due to launch a New Glenn rocket in the coming days, canceled its first flight on Monday due to icing issues.

There have been instances of parts falling to the ground outside of the controlled area. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets were grounded last year after three incidents in which parts re-entered outside the controlled splashdown zone.

Qantas shares fell 2% after announcing the flight delays.

SpaceX has been contacted for comment.