One in every 13 Qantas flights was cancelled in May as the airline battled reliability issues, raising questions about the sharp COVID-19 cost cuts and reasons for scrapping services.

Domestic on-time performance statistics for May – published by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) – show Qantas cancelled 7.6 per cent of scheduled flights that month, up from 5.1 per cent in April as travellers returned to the air as pandemic rules eased.