Qantas And Jetstar Slash Number Of International Flights Over Coronavirus

Qantas and Jetstar flights to Asia, the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand have been cut down dramatically.

Australia's national carrier has slashed the number of flights leaving the country by nearly a quarter because of the coronavirus.

A statement from Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce, read: "In the past fortnight we've seen a sharp drop in bookings on our international network as the global coronavirus spread continues.

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"When revenue falls you need to cut costs, and reducing the amount of flying we do is the best way for us to do that.

"Less flying means less work for our people, but we know coronavirus will pass and we want to avoid job losses wherever possible. We're asking our people to use their paid leave and, if they can, consider taking some unpaid leave given we're flying a lot less.

"It's hard to predict how long this situation will last, which is why we're moving now to make sure we remain well positioned. But we know it will pass, and we'll be well positioned to take advantage of opportunities when it does."

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People with bookings over the next few months will be contacted and told what their options are regarding their travel.

Those with affected routes will be 'offered an alternative flight via another capital city or a partner airline, or an alternative day,' according to Qantas.

The number of flights to Asia in the next six months will be cut by 31 per cent. Flights to the US will drop by 19 per cent, 17 per cent for the UK, and 10 per cent to New Zealand.

It's even worse for people flying on Jetstar, with the airline suspending all flights from Melbourne to Bangkok from 1 May, while cutting the number of flights to Japan by almost 40 per cent from 20 May and Vietnam by over 50 per cent from 1 May.

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The statement from Qantas Group, which also owns Jetstar, read: "In total, this is the equivalent of grounding 38 Qantas and Jetstar aircraft across the international and domestic network.

"To provide customers with greater flexibility and confidence when they book, Qantas and Jetstar will waive change fees for new international bookings made from today until the end of March, if customers change their travel plans."

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and chairman Richard Goyder, will take no fees for the rest of the financial year to July to also help the company avoid further losses.

A full list of affected routes can be found here.

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Topics: News, coronavirus, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie