Rex (Regional Express) hit out in an open letter to regional communities apologising for disruption to services amid a global pilot shortage.

“Whilst Rex’s initiative is successful in responding to natural attrition rates, it is not enough to stave off Qantas and Virgin Australia’s rapacious plundering of Rex’s pilot pool instead of using their not inconsiderable resources to train their own pilots,” chief operating officer Neville Howell wrote.

“In the past two years, these two airlines collectively have poached 17 per cent and 56 per cent of Rex’s first officer and captain establishment respectively.”

Mr Howell said Rex was not able to have its usual contingent of standby pilots rostered for duty because of the shortage.

“Consequently, any last-minute sick leave may result in flights being cancelled or combined with other routes,” he said.

“Rex is acutely aware of the effect that flight disruptions have on travel plans, whether it be for leisure or business.”

He said Rex would redouble its pilot recruitment efforts, including overseas.

He said Rex was the only major carrier in Australia which had proactively tried to resolve the problem by starting a state of the art pilot academy.

But a Qantas spokesperson said no other Australian airline invested more in training pilots than the Qantas Group.

“Our $20 million pilot academy will train pilots not just for the Qantas Group but for the industry more broadly, up to 500 a year,” the spokesperson said.

“We’re also partnering with five universities around Australia to bring through the next generation of aviators.”

The Qantas spokesperson said it was “natural to see some movement between airlines from people seeking advancement, just like in every other industry”.

Qantas is planning to set up a $20 million pilot academy, with the Launceston Airport one of the contenders.

QantasLink, which services Devonport and Launceston as parts of a wider regional airport network, has also been hit by the pilot shortage.

A Qantas spokesman said during the week its regional network had been affected by engineering delays, bad weather and “resourcing issues”.

Competition watchdog the ACCC is investigating QantasLink’s Launceston cancellation rate.