Rex Airlines has cancelled all of its scheduled Boeing 737-800 flights until at least the end of this month, as Adelaide joins Sydney and Melbourne in lockdown.
As of this afternoon, there are no Rex jet services available for sale until 1 August 2021.
It’s not yet clear if the cancellations will be extended even further. At this stage, flights are scheduled to resume on 1 August 2021 but further changes are possible.
Clearly, the concurrent lockdowns across multiple Australian states are limiting demand for interstate flights. Of the five destinations Rex serves with its Boeing 737s, three are now under lockdown restrictions and most states are not currently accepting arrivals from Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide. Under these conditions, it would be almost impossible for Rex to operate profitably.
“Domestic and Regional routes on Rex’s network in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania will be either temporarily suspended or greatly reduced until the end of the State Government imposed border closures and/or lockdowns,” Rex said in a media release on 21 July 2021.
Rex does promise a full refund (not just a flight credit) to all passengers whose flights are affected by COVID-19 restrictions. If your flight has been cancelled or you can no longer travel due to border closures, you can request a refund on the Rex website.
Rex is still operating Saab 340 flights to most regional destinations, although some schedules have been reduced and its Sydney-Canberra route has also been completely suspended until at least 2 August 2021.
Qantas and Virgin Australia continue to operate services to most destinations, although the frequency of services on routes from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide has been significantly pared back while lockdowns remain in place.
At the end of last month, Rex issued a press release to announce that it was continuing to operate all services to and from Sydney, despite the lockdown.
“Although the frequency of services has been reduced to meet lower passenger demand, Rex continues to fly between Sydney – Melbourne, Sydney – Gold Coast, Sydney – Canberra and importantly between Sydney and all NSW regional cities serviced by Rex to ensure that essential travel can be undertaken for eligible travellers,” the press release on 28 June said.
Clearly, circumstances have now changed.
Rex has been contacted for comment.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Rex to fly between Australian capital cities
