Virgin suspends all international flights

Virgin will suspend all international flights for two and a half months and halve domestic capacity as coronavirus hammers airlines.

Virgin Australia will suspend all international flights from March 30 to June 14 and halve domestic capacity in response to travel restrictions imposed to stop the spread of coronavirus.

The drastic reductions will see the equivalent of 53 aircraft grounded across the Virgin and Tigerair fleet, and surplus staff managed with paid or unpaid leave, and in some cases redundancies.

Virgin’s move comes after Qantas on Tuesday outlined cuts of 90 per cent to international capacity and 60 per cent for domestic flights until the end of May.

Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah said the measures reflected the “unprecedented time in the global aviation industry”.

“We have responded by making tough decisions which include reducing our domestic capacity and phasing in the temporary suspension of international flying for two and a half months,” Mr Scurrah said.

“We are committed to supporting our guests during this period and have set up a dedicated customer care hub to manage the surge of customer queries and travel changes. We are also acutely aware of the important role airlines play in supporting connectivity, tourism and the nation’s economy and are maintaining most of our domestic routes and instead reducing frequencies in our schedule.”

Regional Express Airlines is also expected to make significant schedule changes this week, after placing its shares in a trading halt on Tuesday.

In recognition of the difficulties facing airlines as travel demand dries up, the federal government has announced a $715m assistance package. This will see airlines reimbursed for Airservices charges, fuel excise and regional aviation security fees backdated to February 1 until April 30.

Virgin Australia welcomed the package and Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said it would be a “great help”.

“We know there are a lot of calls for government assistance across the economy because of coronavirus but aviation has probably been the first and hardest hit,” said Mr Joyce who has foregone his salary until June 30.

“For all players to receive this support early on is a great help.”

He said Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack had stayed close to the airlines as the crisis unfolded, and that had helped with the design of the package.

“The fact it is retrospective gives us an immediate cash benefit as we deal with falling revenue, and it is sized according to each airline,” Mr Joyce said.

“There are some tough weeks and possibly months ahead but our focus is on getting through that so we’re ready to help with the recovery on the other side.”

All aviation industry players have seen their share price crumble in recent weeks, sparking fears some may not survive the crisis which Mr Joyce has described as “the single biggest shock that global aviation had ever experienced”.

Singapore Airlines has also today announced a 50 per cent cut to its capacity, which is expected to have a significant bearing on Australian routes.

CEO Goh Choon Phong said the carrier had lost “a large amount of traffic in a very short time and it would not be viable to maintain our current network”.

“Make no mistake - we expect the pace of this deterioration to accelerate,” he said.

“The Singapore Airlines Group must be prepared for a prolonged period of difficulty.”

Full details of flight cuts would be available on the airline’s website on Wednesday.