International airlines may exit Australia as recovery lags: Brisbane CEO

Brisbane Airport’s CEO has said international airlines “may well leave Australia behind” as vaccinated nations begin to remove COVID restrictions now. “As an island nation a mid to long-haul flight from most of its trading partners, Australia is uniquely reliant on aviation,” said Gert-Jan de Graaff. “Whilst we have managed through the last 18 months of this crisis with airlines and airports prepared to maintain air connections at great financial loss, this is simply not sustainable.” The significant intervention on Wednesday came as the airport revealed passenger numbers during the last financial year dipped to their lowest level since 1994, failing to crack 8 million. It comes with more than half of the country now in lockdown, including NSW, Victoria and SA as the vaccine rollout lags behind countries such as the US, UK and much of the EU. “It is essential that all levels of government recognise that as other parts of the globe normalise, the highly competitive international aviation sector may well leave Australia behind,” warned de Graaff. “Policies must be put in place to ensure Australia’s connectivity to the world is protected.<br/>