Aviation sector faces ‘catastrophic future’
about 5 years in news
The domestic aviation industry faces a “catastrophic future” if the Federal Government keeps the Australia’s borders closed for an extended period, according to News Corp aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas.
Outgoing Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has warned Australia's international borders are unlikely to fully reopen until a vaccine is found for COVID-19, which could be years away.
With the virtual collapse of domestic and international travel, Australia’s major airlines had to undergo severe cost-cutting measures.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has announced the group will axe 6,000 staff on top of 15,000 employees who were already stood down amid the coronavirus crisis.
In addition to 6,000 job cuts and 15,000 people stood down, Qantas will also ground up to 100 planes for 12 months.
Meanwhile Virgin has been narrowly avoided collapse after Bain Capital pledged to buy the failing airline.
"Overseas countries are less restrictive than Australia at the moment. We have a goal of zero Covid-19 cases, whereas overseas countries, many of them are content to have a certain level,'' Mr Thomas told Sky News.
"If we do keep our hard borders closed on the international scene for another two or three years, it will have a catastrophic affect on our airlines."
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