Praise the Lord, part the Red Sea, and get the footy franks ready because, similar to my admiration for Joe Jonas, airfares are poised to decrease, and I'm not squandering any time in discovering the world before it potentially turns chaotic.

As reported by ABC News, Transport Minister Catherine King has announced that airfares are expected to drop soon as competing airlines — including Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines — are working to expand their capacity on routes such as Australia to Europe and Australia to the Middle East.

“We’re up to 91 percent of pre-COVID capacity, and with more capacity coming in... it is returning, and we will begin to see prices decrease,” King informed ABC’s 7.30.

King also noted that Etihad Airways, which primarily services routes towards the Middle East, had unused capacity, and an application from Turkish Airlines was awaiting approval.

Earlier in the week, the Transport Minister faced criticism after she refused Qatar Airways additional flight approvals into Australia.

According to ABC News, King’s decision to reject Qatar Airways' request for more flights coincided with her signing a letter to five Australian women who claimed they were “invasively strip-searched” three years ago at a Qatari airport.

The women alleged they were strip-searched in an ambulance and had written to King, urging her not to permit Qatar Airways more flights into the country, as reported.

Following the announcement, the transport minister has faced criticism from the Australian Airports Association, travel agency Flight Centre, opposing MPs, and Qatar Airways.

In response, King stated that the flights were “not in the national interest,” but Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume suggested the decision could lead to Australians facing higher airfares.

“As long as Qatar Airways is excluded from those additional routes, airfares will remain elevated; artificially inflated for a longer duration,” Hume remarked, according to ABC News.

With this in mind, I ponder whether these airlines with “extra capacity” will genuinely aid in reducing air travel costs compared to simply allowing more flights.

The exact timing of when these airfares will decrease hasn’t been specified, but I have a plethora of destinations I need to visit before I eventually (though improbably) purchase a house.

Hopefully, we will soon receive more details on when and by how much these airfares will drop.