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Qantas has revealed the NRL's addition of a new team in Papua New Guinea was one of the driving forces behind its decision to bring back regular flights between Sydney and Port Moresby.
Australia's footy-mad northern neighbour will have its own club, the Chiefs, when the 2028 season begins.
The side will be based in Port Moresby, and it's expected that their presence will result in a big increase in demand for flights to the PNG capital.
Qantas has responded by announcing that the service will resume operating from March next year, with two flights a week - making for a total of 35,000 seats each year.
'We're seeing growth in business travel between Sydney and Port Moresby and that's building further as PNG ramps up preparations for Australia’s premier rugby league competition in 2028,' Qantas CEO International Cam Wallace said in a statement.
'The preparation work alone is generating travel, and once the team starts playing and fans and teams are travelling for matches, we expect that to increase significantly.'
Pictured: NRL star Beau Fermor scores a try against Papua New Guinea in October. Australia's northern neighbour will have its own NRL team from the 2028 season
Qantas has announced the return of its flights from Sydney to Port Moresby in anticipation of increased demand due to the establishment of the team
Rugby league is practically a religion in PNG (pictured, stars from the Kumuls national team celebrate after scoring a try against the Prime Minister's XIII in October)
Qantas first started flying to PNG in the 1940s, and now the route will be serviced by Boeing 737s.
The NRL's move to bring the Chiefs into the league hasn't been without controversy.
In June, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys was accused of leaving the NRL open to accusations of racism when he backed calling the new team the Angels.
The term references the Papua New Guineans who gave aid to Australia's soldiers during the Kokoda Campaign in World War II.
Australian soldiers had 'affectionately' called the Papua New Guineans the 'Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels' during the conflict.
However, the Australian War Memorial reported that there are 'some contradictions around the history of the conditions and treatment, perceptions and attitudes and remembrance and recognition of the Papuan carriers of the Second World War.'
Stars will be enticed to sign on with the Chiefs with a proposed tax exemption from the federal government, which is yet to be signed off - although NRL CEO Andrew Abdo has said that should be a formality.
PNG great Justin Olam, who won the 2020 premiership with the Storm, has put his hand up to join the club board, which would see him join fellow Kumuls legend Marcus Bai.
