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Australia unveils US$932 million aid package for airlines and associated businesses
March 11th 2021
The Australian government said today it would subsidise 800,000 air tickets to 13 domestic destinations as part of an aviation and tourism support package. Read More » The subsidy only would apply for interstate routes, with tickets sold through airline websites from the start of April until September 30. The A$1.2 billion (US$932 million) total support package also includes cheap loans for businesses, rebates for security screening costs and an extension of air services charge waivers, among other measures.
Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, expects the scheme to stimulate the market and allow the company to return stood down staff to work. Qantas and Jetstar's combined domestic capacity is at 60% of pre-COVID-19 levels and is projected to climb above 80% by June.
Virgin Australia (VA) CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, said the support package was a "once in a generation event" that would give the entire tourism industry supply chain a significant boost. VA said today it was operating at 50% of pre-COVID-19 domestic capacity and would reach 70% by Easter.
