Federal government to offer 800,000 half-price flights in billion-dollar tourism boost

Hundreds of thousands of flights will be sold at half price to incredible destinations around Australia – here’s how to get your hands on one.

Scott Morrison says cut-price air fares are “another ticket to recovery” as Qantas confirmed it aims to resume international travel by October.

The Prime Minister unveiled the federal government’s post-JobKeeper aviation and tourism rescue package on Thursday, including hundreds of thousands of half-price flight tickets.

Between April 1 and July 31, 800,000 flights will be available to the Gold Coast, Cairns, Whitsundays/Mackay, Sunshine Coast, Lasseter and Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula, and Kangaroo Island.

To book a flight, people simply have to log onto major airline websites, including Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin, from April 1.

Other smaller operators may opt in on the serviced routes chosen by the government, but they must have been running the route for at least two years.

Mr Morrison said the fares were “another ticket to recovery” and enabled airliners to resume business when the JobKeeper supplement ended later this month.

Australians are being incentivised to travel domestically. Picture: iStock

“They don’t want to be living forever on taxpayer assistance. They don’t want to be sitting at home,” he said.

“They want to be mobilizing tourists to their region. They want to be engaged in what they set their businesses up to do.

“They want to be able to run their businesses again, which is what they love doing more than anything else.”

There are expected to be about 46,000 half-price tickets available per week for the 13 destinations, chosen based on their historical reliance on aviation tourism between the months of April and July.

The government has also promised to financially assist Australia’s two international passenger airlines, Qantas and Virgin, from April to October in order to keep a combined 8,600 aviation workers employed.

In exchange, Qantas and Virgin will have to report monthly to the government with an assurance that they have maintained “a set level of international flight readiness”.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the package allowed the airliner to stay afloat until international resumed in earnest.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce predicts the airliner will resume 22 of its 25 pre-COVID international routes. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

He conceded international travel was “some way off”, predicting it would resume once the adult population was vaccinated in October.

“This program allows those people to stay connected with Qantas so we don’t lose them,” he said.

“That’s going to be really important, because when the borders open up, we need the capability to start as many flights as possible.”

He predicted Qantas would be able to restart 22 of the 25 international routes it ran before the onset of COVID-19.

There will be also support for domestic security screening costs at airports and a new Aviation Services Assistance Support Program to help ground-handling companies meet the costs of training staff.

The government will extended and expand its loan program to small and medium businesses from $1 million to $5 million in an effort to encourage businesses to graduate from JobKeeper.

There are 13 regions being targeted including the Gold Coast. Picture: iStock

Discounted flight routes:

The government warns these may change depending on airline negotiations and demand:

Gold Coast

• Adelaide – Gold Coast
• Melbourne – Gold Coast
• Sydney – Gold Coast
• Canberra – Gold Coast
• Avalon – Gold Coast

Tropical North Queensland

• Melbourne – Cairns
• Sydney – Cairns
• Darwin – Cairns

Whitsundays and Mackay region

• Sydney – Proserpine
• Sydney – Hamilton Island
• Sunshine Coast (Queensland)
• Sydney – Maroochydore
• Melbourne – Maroochydore
• Adelaide – Maroochydore

Lasseter and Alice Springs

• Adelaide – Alice Springs
• Sydney – Uluru
• Brisbane – Alice Springs
• Melbourne – Alice Springs
• Perth – Alice Springs
• Sydney – Alice Springs
• Brisbane – Uluru
• Melbourne – Uluru

Launceston, Devonport and Burnie

• Melbourne – Launceston
• Sydney – Launceston
• Brisbane – Launceston
• Melbourne – Devonport
• Melbourne – Burnie

Broome

• Darwin – Broome
• Sydney – Broome
• Melbourne – Broome

Avalon (Victoria)

• Gold Coast – Avalon
• Sydney – Avalon

Merimbula (New South Wales)

• Melbourne – Merimbula

Kangaroo Island (South Australia)

• Adelaide – Kingscote