AUSTRALIA: Government To Offer $298m To Regional Airlines

Australia’s regional airlines – including Rex, Alliance and Pelican – will have access to $298 million to continue operating through the coronavirus crisis.

An initial $198 million will underwrite airlines’ operating costs on selected regional routes, with a further $100 million earmarked to provide direct financial support to smaller regional airlines should it be needed.

The Regional Air Network Assistance Package comes on top of an earlier $715 million provision for the broader aviation sector, bringing the Federal Government’s aviation buffer to just over $1 billion.

“Regional aviation has been smashed by COVID-19,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister, Michael McCormack.

“The funding will ensure regional communities benefit from an ongoing airline service by underwriting airlines’ operating costs on selected routes.”

“More than 100 regional and remote airports received a scheduled passenger service last month and this funding will be welcome news for the aviation workforce and the broader communities these services support,” McCormack added.

He said that the 26,000 people employed in the regional aviation sector is in turn worth billions of dollars to rural communities.

There are currently around 12 commercial regional airlines operating regular scheduled passenger services across Australia.

The support package follows calls earlier this week for “urgent financial assistance” by nine of Australia’s regional carriers, led by Regional Express and Pelican Airlines.

Rex moved to suspend all flights within NSW, Victoria and South Australia until the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission stepped in with unprecedented approval for Regional Express, Qantas and Virgin Australia to share services and revenue on 10 key regional routes during the coronavirus pandemic, provided that fares do not exceed those charged as of February 1, 2020.

Some of the combined services include Sydney–Albury, Sydney-Armidale, Melbourne-Mildura, Adelaide-Port Lincoln, Cairns-Townsville and Townville-Mount Isa.

Rex chief operating officer Neville Howell had previously said the airline could fold within six months without government intervention, and has also requested the Government waive a range of fees and charges for a full year to help offset the impact of the coronavirus on regional air travel.

“If regional carriers collapse, so will many regional communities for which the air service is their lifeline,” Howell predicted.

In a letter to McCormack on March 26, signed by Pelican Airlines CEO Martin Hawley on behalf of eight regional carriers, Hawley warned that “the financial survival of our companies can be counted in days rather than weeks.”

“Unlike the major carriers, our companies are generally privately or family-owned… it is the smaller to mid-size companies that offer much needed air services to regional communities throughout Australia servicing routes unattractive to the major airlines. The risks are high and the margins small.”

The Government’s $298m in funding will be available for regional airlines, contracted aero-medical providers and other related essential service providers through a grants program with monthly payments through to 30 September 2020.

AUSTRALIA: Regional Express Or Rex In Emergency Landing After Pilot Forced Engine To Shut Down

A regional Australian airline plane made an emergency landing this morning after the pilot was forced to shut down an engine, barely a week after a propeller fell off another aircraft mid-flight.

The Regional Express (Rex) plane carrying 23 passengers was heading to Sydney when a warning light came on in the cockpit, with the pilot managing to safely return to the town of Dubbo, the carrier said.

"We were about ten minutes out of Dubbo and all of a sudden there was this big loud noise and a shaking of the aeroplane," passenger Tim Evans said.

"I happened to be in a seat just next to the engine and I saw these flames came out of the engine.

"Then it did another big bang and a shake of the plane and all of these embers came out of the engine and I looked at the propeller and it was clear the engine had stopped."

It was the same Saab 340 model plane as involved in a near-disaster last Friday when a pilot shut down one of two engines after "abnormal indications" before the propeller sheared off.

Despite this, the flight landed safely in Sydney.

"It is not possible to tell at this stage whether the cause is from foreign object ingestion such as a bird or from engine failure," Rex said in a statement about the latest incident.

"It is also clear that this matter is unrelated to the incident regarding the propeller of flight ZL768 on March 17."

Following last week's scare, which is being investigated by transport authorities, Rex removed from service all planes using similar propeller gearboxes and shafts, accounting for six jets from its fleet of 55.

Regional Express is Australia's largest independent regional airline, operating 1,500 weekly flights to 58 destinations throughout the country.