Qantas delays flights due to SpaceX rocket debris threat

Australian airline Qantas Airways is forced to postpone flights between Australia and South Africa due to a US government warning about the possible fall of SpaceX rocket debris over the southern Indian Ocean. Bloomberg reports this.

Qantas Chief Operating Officer Ben Holland noted that changes in rocket launch times are forcing flights to be rescheduled right before they begin.

The delays, which last up to six hours, are mostly on flights between Johannesburg and Sydney. Planes cannot fly in the area where rocket debris enters the atmosphere, so Qantas avoids flying over the southern Indian Ocean.

“We are contacting SpaceX to see if they can clarify the areas and time windows for the rocket to re-enter the atmosphere to minimize future inconvenience to our passengers on the route,” Holland said.

In connection with the expected increase in the pace of launches, the US Federal Aviation Administration announced plans to update spaceflight licensing rules. The agency approved a record 148 commercial space operations last fiscal year and predicts that number could exceed 300 operations by 2028.

Elon Musk's SpaceX expects to launch about 400 of its new Starship spacecraft over the next four years. The company plans to conduct a test flight of it soon.