The inaugural flight VA7 took off aboard Qatar Airways’ leased 777-300ER A7-BEK at around 5:35pm on Monday. Melbourne is the final major Australian gateway to receive Virgin’s Doha services, following Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth in June.
Heathrow, the largest of London’s six commercial airports, will remain closed until at least 11:59pm local time on Friday, causing havoc in the surrounding airspace. At least two Qantas flights in the air have been forced to divert, while others set to…