CORONAVIRUS —
REGIONAL FLIGHTS
244. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the minister representing the
Minister for Transport:
I refer to the ongoing and potential
future impacts of COVID-19 on regional air services.
(1) Has the
government been in discussions with Western Australian airline operators
regarding any impacts to their services?
(2) If yes to
(1), when did these discussions take place and what were the outcomes of these
discussions?
(3) Have any
airlines indicated that they will reduce services or be unable to continue
operating routes in regional WA; and, if so, please provide the details on
which routes will be impacted?
(4) If any
routes become unviable for operators due to COVID-19, what measures will the
state government put in place to ensure that essential services are still able
to fly to regional areas?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the member for some notice
of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by the Minister
for Transport.
(1)–(4) Yes.
While this is a frequently evolving situation, the Department of Transport
advises that there are currently no major specific changes to schedules or
airlines that are operating on regional air routes in Western Australia. The
state government acknowledges the significant challenges being faced by the
aviation industry across Australia and supports the federal government's
announcement of a $715 million package for domestic airlines. The state
government will continue to liaise closely with airlines to work through
aviation impacts resulting from COVID-19.