Jetstar cancels Brisbane to Darwin flights for early August, in further blow to NT tourism

JETSTAR has dealt Darwin’s tourism industry another peak season blow by cancelling more August flights to our city, this time from Brisbane.

Jetstar has dealt Darwin’s tourism industry another peak season blow by cancelling more August flights to our city, this time from Brisbane. Picture: Brendan Radke

JETSTAR has dealt Darwin’s tourism industry another peak season blow by cancelling more August flights to our city, this time from Brisbane.

According to the Jetstar website, from August 1 to August 10 there will be no Brisbane to Darwin Jetstar services.

However one traveller from Brisbane has correspondence from the company saying flights from Brisbane to Darwin “are cancelled until August 18”.

The Brisbane flight cancellations come at the same time as Jetstar cancelled a swag of “sold out” flights from Adelaide to Darwin in the first three weeks of August.

Tourists booked on the flights and the Top End tourism industry reacted with anger and despair over the cancellations.

Hospitality NT chief executive officer Alex Bruce said it was a major concern that the thousands of travellers the industry thought were coming on these flights were now not coming at all.

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“It was bad enough to lose all the Adelaide flights that we lost and now all these Brisbane services have disappeared,” Mr Bruce said.

“Our tourism industry is already on its knees and with Victoria and the New South Wales markets all but wiped out for us it is very, very grim.

“The website had previously been showing these flights as sold out so there was this belief that thousands of tourists were heading our way. It is disappointing to say the least.

“We need COVID safe places like Adelaide and Brisbane to have these flights so that tourists can get up here for the dry season.

“When we lost Victoria we lost 10 to 15 per cent of forward bookings in the accommodation sector, Sydney is worth about 10 or 15 per cent and if NSW gets tipped out completely that’s another 10 or 15 per cent.

“We really need Adelaide and Brisbane to be all they can be.”

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Sunshine Coast resident Steve Evans booked his August 1 flight from Brisbane to Darwin in April and said he had been checking regularly to make sure it was still flying, only to be advised last week the flight was cancelled.

He said when he had last checked, the flight seating was almost full.

“We had accommodation and tours booked and now we will not be coming,” he said.

“We were offered a credit voucher for the flight, but that doesn’t help us and it certainly does nothing for the loss to your tourism industry.

“This is not a hot spot location and neither is Darwin.”

Jetstar has been contacted for comment.

However, when Jetstar cut Adelaide to Darwin Services, a spokesman for the company said the airline was currently operating at significantly reduced schedule.

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The spokesman said this was due to the impacts COVID-19 has had on travel demand right across the network, and border restrictions for some routes.

“We hope to see domestic travel increase in coming months, and are making regular assessments to match the number of flights to demand,” the spokesman said.

“Customers who have been impacted by these domestic flight cancellations have been contacted with a range of alternative options.

“This includes an alternative flight if available at no additional cost, a credit voucher or a refund where no other flights are available.”