“We couldn’t drive to Canberra”: Business leader slams flight disruptions

As Tasmania continues to get caught in the chaos of flight cancellations, one industry expert says businesses could be the ones paying the price. LATEST>>

Ongoing flight cancellations will deter tourists from travelling to Tasmania, affecting the bottom line of businesses, Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Michael Bailey says.

Mr Bailey said businesses were already feeling the hit as a result of the disruptions.

“There have been an above the average number of cancellations of flights, particularly Jetstar over the last few months,” he said

“We know many businesses need to travel to the mainland regularly, we know many workers have moved to Tasmania and need to travel to mainland cities for their work as well.

“For Tasmania in particular, this is really important, we’re Australia’s only island state, we’re a state that’s really desirable, not just for business but for travellers.”

BUDGET REACTIONS

On Monday, Premier Jeremy Rockliff slammed airlines over the cancellations and said Tasmania was disproportionately affected.

Mr Bailey said he was recently affected by the flight disruptions.

“I, myself and my chair were caught in Sydney trying to get to Canberra,” he said.

“We couldn’t drive to Canberra, we had to be there at a particular time, we’d booked our flights accordingly.”

Mr Bailey said if the problem wasn’t fixed before the busy summer tourism period, Tasmanian businesses would be left out of pocket.

“We know that the tourism season coming into Tasmania across Christmas is really significant for our businesses right across Tasmania,” Mr Bailey said.

“Unless the airlines can sort this and again get certainty back in their schedules, people may well decide not to come to our state because of the concern they may have about either getting into the state or getting out of it.”

Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson said Tasmanians were being treated like “second class citizens” by airlines.

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Michael Ferguson.

“We are not satisfied that despite some of their good efforts airlines are not doing enough to support Tasmania,” Mr Ferguson said.

“We know that demand is there for their services.”

Qantas Group, which owns Jetstar, said it had made capacity changes to manage high rates of sick leave.

A spokesperson said the company’s commitment to Tasmania remained strong.

‘Nightmare’: Tassie businesses suffer as flight fiascos continue

A Tassie business is living a “logistical nightmare” as flights are cancelled, luggage is lost, and Australia’s airliners remain in a state of perpetual mayhem.

Javier Herbon of CBG Systems said their business was rapidly haemorrhaging money due to a spate of last-minute cancellations and equipment going missing.

Mr Herbon said not only were they suffering a “huge” financial cost, but also a loss of reputation as contracts were delayed and deadlines were missed.

The managing director said many of their international clients had very time-sensitive projects, and that one delay would cause serious knock-on effects.

The Derwent Park based company makes specialised equipment for a range of large organisations, including military and US Navy fleets.

Mr Herbon said this ongoing flight debacle was making it difficult to do business in Tasmania.

CBG Systems Managing Director Javier Herbon and Madeleine Ogilvie MP at Derwent Park. Picture: Chris Kidd

“Tasmanian businesses rely much more on logistics and connectivity. It’s a great place to do business as long as we can remain fluidly connected to our customers,” Mr Herbon said.

“We have doubled our cost in terms of travel and logistics, and that’s without considering the lost time of our employees and our projects.”

Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he’s had a stern word with Qantas Group and Virgin Australia expressing his “displeasure” at the sudden cut in services.

Mr Rockliff said he accepted there may be a need to scale-back services, but that Tasmania seemed to be disproportionately bearing the brunt.

“Tasmania is an island, and the reality is we are more vulnerable to any shifts in airline capacity to and from the State,” Mr Rockliff said.

Javier Herbon for Future ADL mag

“These changes appear to have been quietly rolled out by the airlines by stealth, and we are already seeing higher airfares as a result – which is simply not acceptable.”

Australia’s aviation safety watchdog says they will be scrutinising Qantas’ operations, including their ground handling and cabin safety.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s warning comes as the Transport Workers Union leaked an “explosive” internal dossier revealing safety breaches by the company Swissport.

Thousands of Australians are stranded overseas this week as Jetstar cancelled several flights in and out of Indonesia, Thailand, and Japan.

Qantas and Jetstar have promised to increase capacity back into the Tasmanian schedule in the coming months.

Qantas promised to be at 120 per cent of pre-Covid capacity into Tasmania in December and January.

‘Not good enough’: Premier slams flight cancellations

As Tasmanians continue to be hit hard by flight cancellations, Qantas has promised the problem won’t continue over the state’s peak tourism period.

The comments comes after Premier Jeremy Rockliff slammed airlines for a disproportionate level of reduced services in Tasmania.

“It’s simply not good enough for Tasmania to be disadvantaged unfairly by the same airline businesses that we have strongly supported through the pandemic,” Mr Rockliff said.

“Disappointingly, it appears the Qantas Group has hit Tasmania with a disproportionately higher level of reduction than elsewhere across Australia – despite being the jurisdiction most reliant on air travel.

“Even worse, these changes appear to have been quietly rolled out by the airlines under the cover of darkness, while also resulting in higher airfares – which is already evident in coming months.”

Mr Rockliff said the problems needed to be solved by Tasmania’s summer tourism period.

“With our economy and tourism industry continuing to rebound after a difficult few years, it is absolutely paramount that Tasmania’s airline capacity is not significantly reduced ahead of our peak tourism period in coming months,” he said.

A Qantas Group spokesperson said the changes were a result of Covid and Flu related sick leave.

“Over the past few months we have made some capacity changes across our network to help improve reliability and to manage high rates of sick leave due to Covid and the flu season,” the spokesperson said.

“Our commitment to Tasmania and the Tasmanian tourism industry remains strong.

Covid vaccinations arrive at Hobart on Qantas flight QF1023. Picture: Chris Kidd

The spokesperson said the reductions in Tasmania were not as bad as other areas.

“The capacity reductions we’ve made into Tasmania have been below cuts we’ve had to make to other markets, including Melbourne to Sydney and into Coolangatta and the Sunshine Coast,” they said.

“These adjustments to the schedule are having positive results, with cancellation rates in Tasmania below the network average and on time performance increasing by 19 percentage points in August compared to July.”

They said there would be more flights in the coming months.

“Qantas and Jetstar will be putting capacity back into the Tasmanian schedule in the coming months. Qantas will be at 120 per cent of pre-Covid capacity into Tasmania in December and January,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Rockliff said he last week met with the Qantas Group CEO to express concerns and would continue discussions.

“I have followed up again formally with both airlines today (Monday), and it’s my clear expectation that both airlines respond as soon as possible and clarify the situation,” he said.

Follow @JudyAugustine