What Does Increased Domestic Flights Actually Mean For Travellers?
By now you’ve most likely heard that Virgin Australia and Qantas (and Jetstar, as a part of Qantas) are planning to start increasing their domestic flights, with over 200 flights a week taking to the skies — but what does that mean for your travel plans?
The increase in flights are a result of the Federal Government giving $160 million to both Virgin and Qantas in exchange for their operating flights over certain routes around Australia. The increased flights will mean that planes are connecting all our major cities, and a selection of regional areas.
So there will be more flights, yes, but are we allowed to hop on them?
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Are we allowed to fly now?
Short answer is no, not yet, at least not for leisure reasons. Flights might be increasing, but it has no effect on the current coronavirus-related restrictions in your state. So if your state borders are closed, sorry but you’re still not going anywhere.
Mainly, the flights will service essential workers who need to get around the country. The ABC reports that Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said they will also “ferry important equipment around the nation, particularly medical equipment and medicine, but also ferry defence personnel, medical personnel, key medical people who need to get around the country.
Qantas has said most of their flights won’t be commercially viable, but will be used mostly for moving valuable supplies around Australia.
Although, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has said we can expect some heavily discounted fares once it’s all back up and running.
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So what can we do?
That’s still up to your individual state or territory. We’ve put together a guide here, but keep an eye on updated information.
In fab news, in most areas of Australia, road trips are back on though, at least within your state. If you’re in Victoria, we’ve found some gems for your cheeky weekend getaways here. New South Welshmen please enjoy these epic trips we know you haven’t done yet. And Western Australia, we’re jealous of all the natural beauty on this post-COVID bucket list.
There’s also some pretty awesome Airbnb rentals around the country that I would absolutely spend forever in.
What a perfect time to start exploring the wonders of our own backyards. And in good news, at least we know there will be flights ready for when we can use them.
(Lead Image: Pexels / Sohel Patel)
