Qantas, Jetstar slash flights amid Omicron surge

Qantas and Jetstar have followed Virgin Australia in cutting a number of domestic and international flights as the Omicron spike sparks chaos for travellers.

Qantas and Jetstar have followed Virgin Australia in announcing a number of flight cuts to both airlines’ domestic and international travel schedules.

Qantas said that domestic flights would be running around 70 per cent of pre-Covid levels, down from the 102 per cent that had been planned.

The airline said schedule changes are focused on reducing frequency of services and size of aircraft to minimise inconvenience for passengers as much as possible.

Total international capacity for the same period will fall from 30 per cent to around 20 per cent of pre-Covid levels. This reduction is driven by increased travel restrictions in countries like Japan, Thailand and Indonesia and is mostly impacting Jetstar’s leisure routes.

The company said other markets – such as London, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Johannesburg and India – “continue to perform well”.

Qantas and Jetstar have slashed a number of domestic and international flights as Omicron spikes around the world. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

Qantas said customers will be contacted directly from late January if their booking is impacted by cancellations and offered alternative flights that in most cases are likely to be a difference of a few hours if travelling domestically.

“The sudden uptick in Covid cases is having an obvious impact onconsumer behaviour across various sectors, including travel, but we know it’s temporary,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said.

“Thankfully, Australia has one of the world’s highest vaccination rates and the Omicron variant is milder than its predecessors. So, as challenging as this current phase is, we’re optimistic that it is likely to fast track a return to normal.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said he was “optimistic” that a return to normal wasn’t far off. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

“People are already looking beyond what’s happening now with early bookings for the Easter holidays in April looking promising for both domestic and international.”

It comes as Virgin Australia cancelled a quarter of its flights on some of its most popular routes over the next two months due to the Omicron outbreak.

Travel demand has plummeted and Covid-19 outbreaks have forced crew members into isolation, forcing the airline to temporarily suspend ten routes and reduce its network capacity to 25 per cent.

Virgin Australia apologised to passengers for any inconvenience, and said in the majority of cases, impacted guests would be re-booked on an alternate flight.

Virgin planes parked at Melbourne Airport. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said that the aviation industry globally has been impacted by surging Omicron cases, affecting both team members and consumer confidence.

“One thing we have learnt from the last two years is that we need to keep adapting as circumstances change.

“So we will continue to do that, and have made some temporary changes to our network to manage the current environment,” Ms Hrdlicka said.

Some of the flight routes are anticipated to resume in March, while others will be suspended until June 2022.

“Virgin Australia is dedicated to the communities that we serve and will resume these flights as soon as possible,” Ms Hrdlicka said.

“Although we don’t know when this wave will pass, we do know that as we make the shift to living with Covid-19 there will continue to be changes in all our lives and we look forward to continuing to connect our guests with their families, friends, colleagues.”

The full list of temporarily suspended routes is:

Adelaide – Darwin

Adelaide – Cairns

Adelaide – Sunshine Coast

Coffs Harbour – Melbourne

Hamilton Island – Melbourne

Sydney – Townsville

Melbourne – Townsville

Gold Coast – Launceston

Gold Coast – Hobart

Sydney – Fiji

Originally published as Qantas, Jetstar slash flights amid Omicron surge