QANTAS to shelve all international flights by the end of the month

QANTAS, Australia’s national airline announced it is halting all international flights later this month, after Australia’s other main carrier Virgin shut down overseas services due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. But QANTAS will maintain 60% of its domestic flights and Virgin Australia around 50%.

QANTAS says international flights will be suspended by the end of this month for at least 2 months after the government told Australian travellers to forego all overseas travel in a downunder bid to halt the spread of the virus.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce says the announcement affects the main QANTAS brand as well as its budget offshoot JetStar.

“The efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus have led to a huge drop in travel demand, the likes of which we have never seen before.”

“The airline will suspend 20,000 of its 30,000 staff during the shutdown.”

Earlier this week QANTAS announced a 90% cut in overseas flights while Virgin Australia has now grounded its entire international fleet.

Australia has today reporting more than 700 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with infections accelerating daily. There have been six deaths. Officials claim the majority of new cases involve people arriving from overseas or locals who have been in contact with foreign visitors.

SOURCE: CNA