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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 619 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 8 September 2020 by Mr I.C. Blayney

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

CORONAVIRUS — REGIONAL FLIGHTS — GERALDTON

619. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the Minister for Transport:

Ever prior to COVID-19, Geraldton had 16 return flight services a week to Perth. Currently, there are only four a week. Is the minister aware of the negative impact this restricted flight schedule is having on the Geraldton community, including limited visitation by medical specialists, making it difficult for patient assisted travel scheme patients to attend appointments, and reducing business connections and access for workers?

Ms R. SAFFIOTI replied:

I thank the member for Geraldton for that question. As we all are aware, the aviation industry has been impacted the most by the COVID pandemic —

Several members interjected.

The SPEAKER: Member for Riverton and member for Churchlands, I call you both to order for the first time. I have warned you about three times.

Ms R. SAFFIOTI: Whether it has been the major airlines or the regional airlines, and whether it has been the workers, who have also, of course, had a significant impact, the aviation industry has been significantly impacted. We are working with all the airlines and we will continue to work with all the airlines. We are currently in a dialogue with those airlines about what else can be done from both a tourism point of view and a residential community point of view to support further flights and further accessibility of air travel in Western Australia. We have seen some return to normality in some parts of Western Australia, but we will continue to work on some areas and have discussions with the airlines about how we can improve services. Affordable and accessible air travel in WA has been our priority. We had already achieved a lot before the pandemic, and we are trying to recover to be back where we were and to improve both the accessibility and affordability of air travel in Western Australia.