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BFF-19
HEALTH-VIRUS-TRAVEL-AUSTRALIA-AVIATION
Australian airline Qantas to cut all international flights
SYDNEY, March 19, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Australia’s biggest airline Qantas said
it would halt all international flights and suspend 20,000 staff in response
to the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday, days after the island nation’s other
main carrier Virgin shut its overseas routes.
Qantas said all of its international flights would be suspended by late
March for at least two months after the government told citizens Wednesday to
forego all overseas travel in a bid to halt the spread of novel coronavirus.
“The efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus have led to a huge drop
in travel demand, the likes of which we have never seen before,” Qantas chief
executive Alan Joyce said, adding that the airline would suspend 20,000 of
its 30,000 staff during the shutdown.
The move also affected Qantas’ budget offshoot, Jetstar. A number of
foreign airlines also service Australian routes.
Qantas announced earlier this week a 90 percent cut in overseas flights
while Virgin Australia grounded its entire international fleet.
Qantas is maintaining 60 percent of its domestic flights and Virgin
Australia 50 percent.
Airlines worldwide face an unprecedented existential threat as the
coronavirus shuts down global travel, leaving governments with controversial
and costly decisions about which carriers to bail out.
The Transport Workers’ Union said Qantas was making staff foot the bill
for the crisis.
“This plan is designed to wipe the slate clean on all worker entitlements,
including long-service leave and accrued benefits,” union secretary Michael
Kaine said in a statement.
Qantas shares were down almost 12 percent on Thursday.
– Imported virus cases –
Australia has reported more than 600 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with
infections increasing daily. There have been six deaths.
Officials say a large number of new cases involve people arriving from
overseas or those who have been in contact with them.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced an unprecedented
decision to advise all Australians to forego foreign travel.
He has also ordered a halt to all cruise ship activity into and out of the
country, banned outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people and indoor groups
of more than 100.
But he stopped short of ordering the kind of lockdown seen in some
pandemic hotspots or closing the nation’s schools.
Meanwhile, the island state of Tasmania announced Thursday than any non-
essential travellers arriving in the island from Saturday would have to self-
quarantine for 14 days.
The move, the first by any Australian state to restrict domestic travel,
excludes health workers and essential personnel dealing with trade.
Tasmania, off Australia’s southern coast, has a population of around
500,000 and has reported just 10 cases of coronavirus.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0954 hrs