Airlines ‘nothing to celebrate just yet‘ but demand expected to surge before Xmas

Queensland’s new border pass system has failed to ignite a surge in air travel, with the real boost not expected for another month.

Airlines have “nothing to celebrate just yet” as demand from passengers fails to increase in the wake of the Queensland Government’s border pass announcement.

A Brisbane Airport spokeswoman said there had been no increase in passenger numbers for the next five days, and there had been no noticeable increase in services.

“From a Brisbane Airport perspective, there is nothing to celebrate just yet,” she said.

She anticipated that would change come December 17 as home quarantine is scraped for interstate travellers.

“We anticipate airlines will start to schedule up once Queensland hits the 80 per cent (full Covid-19 vaccination) milestone,” she said.

She said that part of that increased schedule would be thanks to budget carrier Rex’s announcement it would be operating double-daily flights on the popular Melbourne-Brisbane route from December 17.

A relatively deserted Brisbane Airport domestic terminal last week. Picture: Jono Searle/NCA NewsWire

Only two flights operated from Sydney into Brisbane and two from Melbourne today, with the remainder cancelled.

“This is a pretty consistent reflection of how things have been at Brisbane Airport with border restrictions in play,” the spokeswoman said.

Hello World Travel Spring Hill spokeswoman Colette Rosso said the firm had not experienced any increased demand from customers, but anticipated it would pick up in late December.

“People are still confused right now,” she said.

“We are expecting to have a surge in calls and demand in December once they don’t have to home quarantine.”

A Qantas spokeswoman said it was too soon to tell how many flights would be added onto their schedule in the coming days as border passes were granted.

“We will be monitoring demand on these routes,” she said.