SA regional flights expected to continue amid Rex Airlines crisis
Regional South Australian routes flown by embattled Rex Airlines are tipped to continue after administrators were appointed, capital city services were axed and hundreds of job losses expected.
Rex entered voluntary administration last night, with services between capital cities grounded amid speculation about the impact on regional flights around Australia.
The Transport Workers Union said it had been told that 610 jobs would be axed and the airline’s fleet of 737 planes grounded.
The Rex board has appointed Samuel Freeman, Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins of EY Australia as joint administrators.
Freeman said on Wednesday morning that Rex’s capital city routes would “cease permanently”, but the group was “comfortable” regional flights would continue to run throughout the administration process.
“There is a need to return Rex to its core, which is its regional and remote operations,” Freeman said.
“What we’ve seen is an incredible amount of support for Rex around the continuation of those regional and remote operations, and there’s a great foundation for that to be achieved through the voluntary administration process.”
Rex (formerly Regional Express) flies five regional routes from Adelaide: to Port Lincoln, Mount Gambier, Ceduna, Coober Pedy and Broken Hill.
Rex is the only airline that offers flights to Ceduna, 770km from Adelaide.
Rex administrators said they are comfortable the company will continue offering regional services. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily.You might like
Ceduna Mayor Ken Maynard welcomed news that regional services would continue.
“It’s very vital – it not only services Ceduna, but Streaky Bay as well,” he told InDaily.
“It’s a population of about 5000 people, and the alternative is an eight-hour drive to Adelaide by road, or there’s a twice-weekly bus service, which I think is about ten hours on the road.
“It’s also important for both towns for the delivery of locum doctors, specialists, and agency nursing staff. That’s sort of one thing that probably a lot of people don’t realise, that we all rely on those people coming and going to our towns to provide medical services.
“Also, the fact that people from both towns would be travelling to Adelaide seeking medical treatments. The most obvious one of impact would be anyone needing chemotherapy, constantly going backwards and forwards.
“There’s a big difference between being able to catch a flight and fly down today and have your chemo tomorrow and then back again the next day, and a two-day driving expedition.”
Maynard said Rex’s services also brought mine workers to the area, to work in the Jacinth Ambrosia mine nearby.
Port Lincoln Mayor Diana Mislov told InDaily that while Rex was not the only airline servicing the area, it was “hugely important”.
“We need reliable services,” Mislov said.
“We’ve got residents not just in Port Lincoln but in the lower Eyre Peninsula, Tumby Bay and further afield in the whole of Eyre Peninsula, that rely on those flights.”
“We rely on it for connectivity to the world. We’re many hours away from Adelaide in a car, and really it would be a huge impact if they were to be lost to the region.
“It does remain competitive against the Qantas airline as well.”
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Mislov said medical staff also regularly used the airline to work in the area.
Virgin Australia has announced it will provide replacement tickets to affected Rex customers. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily.Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin echoed the importance of Rex for the city, which is serviced only by Qantas and Rex.
“It’s important that regional Australia continues to have a reliable service to maintain connectivity for residents,” Martin told InDaily.
“We have many clinicians and specialists that fly in to work at the Mount Gambier Hospital, and so it’s vitally important from that aspect as well.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it was a “big relief” that Rex would continue offering regional services while in administration, saying the federal government had discussed a support package with the company.
“Our top priority (is) to make sure we can continue to serve and service regional communities and regional economies because we know how important it is – we’re prepared to play a constructive role.”
In its announcement to the Stock Exchange, the Rex Group said it had a “long and proud history of servicing regional and remote communities across Australia”.
Virgin Australia announced it would offer impacted Rex customers free replacement tickets.
Domestic routes being accommodated by Virgin include between Adelaide and Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
“This is a difficult moment for Australian aviation. It is also a reminder of the challenging nature of our industry,” Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said.
“Recognising the importance for regional Australians to have access to a comprehensive domestic and international network, Virgin Australia also intends to partner with Rex’s regional business to enable seamless access to Virgin Australia’s domestic and international destinations.
“The team at Virgin Australia are thinking about everyone at Rex today, an airline with a proud and important role in Australian aviation, particularly for regional Australia.”
Rex’s profitability has been struggling since the pandemic, with a bottom-line net loss of $3.2 million reported by the company for the first half of the 2023 to 2024 financial year.
– with AAP
