Brisbane airport confusion, family holiday plans shattered as Rex goes into administration
There has been confusion at Brisbane airport this morning following the collapse of Rex Airlines, with travellers scrambling to rearrange flights.
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At least five interstate departures and two interstate arrivals with REX Airlines had been cancelled at Brisbane airport on Wednesday morning.
The airline went into voluntary administration late on Tuesday and grounded its fleet of aircraft.
In a statement on its website, Rex said regional planes would continue flying as scheduled while all domestic passengers could rebook cancelled flights between major cities with Virgin Australia at no extra costs. There would be no refunds.
Sunshine Coast couple Bliss Hunter and Scott Galeano arrived at Brisbane airport at 4am after finding out at 10.30 last night that their 6am flight to Sydney was cancelled.
“Our plan was to fly to Sydney at 6am before taking another flight at 10am to Bega,” Mr Galeano explained.
“Bliss has been on the phone to Virgin for over an hour trying to sort out a flight. But yeah we have been here since 4am just waiting to find another flight.”
Matt Brown and his family, Christine, Kelvin, Becky and 12-year-old Dakota had three phones on hold to Virgin Airways trying to get a flight to Melbourne.
The family had been held up trying to head to their cousin’s wedding on Saturday, with Kelvin expected to be the wedding celebrant.
Their suitcases and bags were bundled together and wedding gifts were placed in boxes and duct taped ready for the flight.
Matt’s partner Abbey Flouch was to join the family for the Melbourne wedding and had also been on the phone to Virgin.
“She works for Flight Centre so she has been trying to find flights through them and even they can’t get through,” Matt said.
“I have been on hold for 45 minutes and Becky has been on hold for 59.”
“We are so worried about the wedding and making it there, I mean we have the wedding celebrant in Brisbane. Fortunately we booked a few days ahead,” Christine Brown said.
Oriol Ferreras, Carmen Barreras, and Xavier Ferreras were on a holiday from Spain about to head to Adelaide when their flight was cancelled.
“We were given a number to call and try to sort out our flights,” Oriol said.
“But we’ve tried to call and there has been no answer. So we have had no choice but to buy another ticket with Jetstar.”
Xavier Ferreras said all their accommodation and itinerary for the day in Adelaide had been booked.
“It is very frustrating, we now have to wait for another flight,” he said.
Jojo and Harry Luseerio had booked a holiday to Melbourne with 21 of their extended family members, and were shocked to find their flight had been cancelled overnight.
“We were very excited to go to Melbourne with everyone we have never been. We have only lived in Brisbane for two months,” Mr Luseerio said.
“We have all our family here so it is very stressful.”
Another family member, Margaret Quinte said she barely got two hours sleep from the stress of trying to organise another flight.
“We tried to book with Virgin but because there were 23 of us, they couldn’t find a flight. So we’ve had to buy another ticket for a Jetstar flight at 9am,” Ms Quinte said.
“Some of our family have managed to get on an earlier flight so now we are waiting to get on ours.
“We want to see if we can get a refund for our REX flights if we have booked with Jetstar.”
In a statement posted to social media, a Brisbane Airport spokesman said it was saddened by the suspension of Rex services and would assist customers where possible.
“Impacted passengers will be rebooked on Virgin Australia flights free of charge with those travelling in the next 48 hours urged to call 13 67 89,” the spokesman said.
“Other passengers booked on a Rex Jet Service should visit the Virgin website to access a rebooking form.
“Rex’s regional services across Queensland remain unaffected and passengers booked on these services should proceed to the airport as normal.
“Rex plays a vital role in connecting regional communities across Queensland and BNE’s thoughts are with the staff impacted by this announcement.”
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