80 Brisbane flights cancelled as city locks down

Nearly 80 flights to and from Brisbane Airport was cancelled today as the city went into its first day of a snap lockdown. It came as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed eight new local cases of the British variant of COVID were recorded. The shutdown of Brisbane, announced yesterday, led to Victoria, WA, SA and the NT all effectively closing their borders to the state. The timing has been a huge blow for the domestic aviation industry, which is transitioning away from JobKeeper support to a new package offering passengers half-price tickets to stimulate demand. On Tuesday, 45 flights departing Brisbane, and 34 due to be arriving, were cancelled, with both Virgin and Qantas yet to make an official announcement on how its capacity will change moving forward. Victoria’s Acting Premier, James Merlino, also said on Tuesday morning his state’s border were unlikely to open as soon as the lockdown ends, raising fears of a lengthy shut out. The state has declared Greater Brisbane a “red zone” under its travel permit system.<br/>