Qantas pushes back plan to resume international travel amid border closures

Hopes of widespread international travel in the near future have been dashed by the closure of borders for at least another year, prompting Qantas to delay restarting overseas flights.

Hopes of widespread international travel in the near future have been dashed by the closure of borders for at least another year, prompting Qantas to delay restarting overseas flights.

As domestic tourism in Australia’s regions booms, travel agents and operators reliant on international visitors were not allocated additional funding in Tuesday’s federal budget.

The budget did indicate the international border was expected to remain closed until mid-2022 and a quarantine program would remain in place, limiting overseas arrivals.

Qantas delays restarting of international flights from Australia. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

In response Qantas on Wednesday announced it would push back its plans to resume leisure and business travel.

“We remain optimistic that additional bubbles will open once Australia’s vaccine rollout is complete to countries who, by then, are in a similar position, but it’s difficult to predict which ones at this stage,” Qantas said in a statement.

In the Budget, Treasury estimating any economic benefit from the return of international travellers and students would be entirely offset by the loss of Australians spending domestically.

In the lead-up to the Budget the government tipped an extra $130m into Round 2 of its Consumer Travel Support Program, giving agents between $7,500 and $100,000 if they previously had a turnover of between $50,000 and $20m in 2019, and had qualified for Round 1 grants.

Travel agent Michael West says his business is down 94 per cent. Picture: Richard Dobson

But independent Sydney agent Michael West said he was still waiting to hear if his appeal to get the grant was successful after initially being ruled ineligible in Round 1 due to an accounting quirk in the way his parent company reported turnover.

“My income is down 94.4 per cent since they closed the borders year on year,” he said.

Mr West said he was disappointed the sector had not received more support in the Budget.

“I had a successful business for 15 years, built up a client base and made a yearly profit, and then the government turned off my income and we’re just being told to fend for ourselves,” he said.

“I don’t think the Treasurer or Prime Minister would go to work for 94.4 per cent reduction of their income.”

Mr West said he had considered closing but felt an obligation to his clients who have significant amounts of travel credit from cancelled trips held with him.

Labor’s tourism spokesman Don Farrell has condemned the lack of support for the sector in the Budget. Picture: Che Chorley

Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond said if borders remained closed Australia risked becoming “the lost kingdom of the South Pacific”.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham defended the government’s stance and criticised Ms Osmond’s comments as unhelpful “excitable rhetoric”.

“I think the tourism and hospitality sector should also understand that continuing to successfully suppress COVID in Australia is crucial for their sector as well,” he said.

But Labor’s tourism spokesman Don Farrell said the government were completely out of touch.

“Jobs are being lost, businesses closing and he has the nerve to say industry’s pleas for support are just “excitable rhetoric’,” he said.

“Many tourism operators are small businesses or sole traders and are barely hanging on.

“They won’t be able to just rise from ashes when the Morrison government finally gets its act together on vaccinations and our borders can safely re-open.”

Originally published as Qantas pushes back plan to resume international travel amid border closures