Anthony Albanese sparks outrage for his comments about Rex

Anthony Albanese has again criticised the embattled Rex airline, saying the regional carrier should not have tried to attack lucrative urban routes.

The Prime Minister says it is vital that regional communities ‘continue to have access to aviation services’.

But he has dismissed criticism that his government’s lack of action to improve access to slots at Sydney Airport is part of the problem for Rex.

“There are several issues with Rex,” Albanese said Thursday.

‘One of them is that a regional airline decided to invest in routes where they were not previously active.

‘Sydney to Melbourne is not a regional route. It is one of the top 10 routes in the world and has literally been number 1 in the world at various stages.

‘Aviation is a tough sector.’

Bridget McKenzie, the opposition’s transport spokeswoman, accused Albanese of “committing protection fraud for his favourite airline Qantas”.

The prime minister dodged criticism that his government’s lack of action to improve access to slots at Sydney airport could have been part of the problem for Rex.

She said Rex entered the competition for the route to the capital with a $150 million investment from its partners and that Virgin had been grounded during the pandemic.

“For the Prime Minister to stand up and say that Rex doesn’t have the rights, the expertise or the skills to actually compete with its favourite customer, Qantas, I think says a lot about the Prime Minister’s view of Qantas,” she told Sky News.

“Since he came into power, he has committed a protection fraud for that particular airline, and it continues.”

Regional Express Holdings Limited was placed into administration late on Tuesday night, leading to the cancellation of flights on its Boeing 737 flights between capital cities.

Flights between regional locations with the Saab 340 fleet are not yet affected.

According to the Transport Workers’ Union, more than 600 jobs have been lost as a result of the move, while 360 ​​jobs will be cut.

Ernst & Young has been appointed as voluntary administrators for Rex, with Samuel Freeman, Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins leading the board.

The government has repeatedly said that Rex has important links with regional communities, particularly capital cities, and would work with the governors.

Competition for access to major airports, such as Sydney, at busy times was seen as a problem. Mr Albanese dismissed this.

Bridget McKenzie, the opposition’s transport spokeswoman, accused Albanese of running a “protection racket for his favourite airline Qantas”

“Regional slots have been guaranteed at Sydney Airport for a long time and there have been some recent reforms proposed,” he said.

‘The previous government was in power for ten years and did nothing about it. We are doing something about it as a result of the recommendations.’

Senator McKenzie said the Albanian government needed to help Rex and improve competition in the airline sector, which had been dominated by Qantas and a resurgent Virgin.

“The government needs to have a plan and do something in the long term to improve competition for airlines in this country. We have seen two airlines that wanted to create competition go bankrupt within four months under his leadership.”

Rex’s demise follows the collapse of regional airline Bonza earlier this year.

Senator McKenzie said the government could have changed the closing process, but neither Mr Albanese nor Transport Minister Catherine King had taken action.

“She issued a press release but she has not actually done anything to change the situation and make it easier for other competitors to challenge Qantas.”