What to do if you’ve booked a Rex flight to a major city from Melbourne Airport on Rex
Rex flights from Melbourne Airport to major cities have been cancelled after the airline plunged into administration this week. Here’s what you need to do if you’ve booked to fly Rex.
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Victorians with seats booked on grounded Rex flights from Melbourne Airport are being offered replacement seats with Virgin, at no extra cost.
Melbourne Airport — which was home to Rex’s largest 737 jet base — on Wednesday said it was “deeply disappointed” by the suspension of flights, but would help affected ticketholders where it could.
Rex services from Melbourne to Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, the Gold Coast and Perth have been cancelled, after the airline entered voluntary administration this week and grounded all planes flying between major airports.
Rex Group has said regional flights to Mildura, Merimbula, Mt Gambier, King Island, Burnie, Devonport and Wagga Wagga will continue to operate as scheduled but passengers booked to fly to major cities will need to rebook with Virgin Australia, with no refunds available.
Qantas and Jetstar have also announced they will be offering affected Rex customers replacement flights at no extra charge.
Rex ticketholders have been warned they shouldn’t turn up to airports for flights until alternate bookings have been confirmed with other airlines.
Hundreds of workers are set to lose their jobs amid Rex’s demise, after it tried to take on the major airlines with city routes.
“Our thoughts are with the staff affected by this announcement,” Melbourne Airport said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The team at Melbourne Airport will continue to work hard to facilitate new entrants to the Australian market because of the benefits they bring to consumers.”
Rex halted trading on the ASX on Monday, raising concerns for its future and prompting speculation it would be put into administration.
Virgin Australia Group chief Jayne Hrdlicka said Virgin was moving quickly to help Rex customers find new flights, and support those employees who were now facing unemployment.
“Impacted Rex customers will be supported with rebooking on an equivalent Virgin Australia service free of charge,” a Virgin spokesperson said.
“People whose employment has been affected should visit the expression of interest form on our website to apply for open positions.”
Swinburne University corporate governance expert Helen Bird said Rex entering voluntary administration came as no surprise given its recent board skirmishes and trading halt on the ASX.
Ms Bird said “what is on display at Rex is the result of poor financial management and poor governance”.
“The events that led to the trading halt did not just suddenly happen. They would have been evident well before now and the question to be asked of Rex management is why they let these losses continue to the point where they had a catastrophic effect on the company’s bottom line?” she said.
Ms Bird said “fireworks on the Rex board” had also been no secret.
“Serious questions needed to be asked by investors about what was going on at the board level, the quality of its members and the reasons for its recent dramas,” Ms Bird said.
Originally published as What to do if you’ve booked a Rex flight to a major city from Melbourne Airport on Rex
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