Australian regional airline, Regional Express has a declared that current global events have impacted services in Queensland.

REX operated regulated regional routes in south-eastern Australia, under contract to the Queensland government but is to cease flights on 1 April 2020. It had served as a vital service to those who are situated outside the major cities and do not have the access to larger airports, allowing them to reach destinations such as Townsville, Winton, St George and Julia Creek.

The airline announced that it “has no choice but to declare a Force Majeure event for the contract and suspend all services on Queensland regulated routes indefinitely until it has the ability to service the contract in a commercially viable manner.”

Over the past few weeks, REX has reduced its network and requested financial aid from the Australian government in a bid to stay afloat. However, the airline has now had to close the routes regulated by the Government, to ensure a minimum level of passenger services to isolated destinations.

Last week, Australian regional airlines including REX received USD185 million in funds from the government with the aim to keep them running during this uncertain time. REX Chairman, John Sharp stated that “this meaningful assistance package not only seeks to keep essential air services going, but also tries to prevent the existing regional aviation providers from collapsing.”