Burnie-Melbourne flights will be slashed, but airline Regional Express will keep the service running for now at least.
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Rex will cut return services between the Burnie Airport and Melbourne from 27 per week to seven from April 6 as part of its response to the coronavirus-driven slump in passenger numbers.
King Island services will remain unchanged at this stage.
Overall, the airline will cut capacity by 45 per cent and suspend its Adelaide-Port Augusta, Sydney-Armidale and Sydney-Newcastle routes, while maintaining previously announced plans to drop its Ballina-Sydney route from March 29 and the Kangaroo Island-Adelaide route from July 1.
Rex has not ruled out more cuts if the situation worsens.
"The operating environment is extremely fluid and we will be will be monitoring the situation closely," general manager of network strategy and sales Warrick Lodge said,.
"If the situation worsens we may be forced to further reduce capacity in the interests of maintaining essential regional air services.
"This capacity reduction alone will not be enough and we have reached out to local councils (airport owners) to seek a reduction in airport charges to keep operating costs to a bare minimum so that the reduced services can be sustainable."
Rex has also written to state governments seeking what it called "urgent relief and assistance measures to give the regional carriers a fighting chance of seeing through the current crisis".
That follows the company lauding federal assistance measures announced during the week.
Rex said that package gave regional carriers some breathing space, but deputy chairman John Sharp said it would not be enough.
"Regional carriers do not have the balance sheet to last very long in this environment," Mr Sharp said.
"While Rex may have six months of reserves if things do not deteriorate further, most others have only weeks if not days of cash left.
"It is praiseworthy what the federal government has done with such decisiveness, but, ultimately, regional aviation is a state responsibility and the state governments need to respond immediately otherwise they will see the regional carriers collapsing like flies."
He said state governments had substantial budgets for regional airport infrastructure and urged them to spend some of the money helping regional carriers "otherwise there will not be any airline to fly to the renovated airports".
"Rex has paid close to $1 billion of federal and state taxes and has provided over 1000 annual jobs and has never asked for a single cent in subsidy from the state governments as it is an efficient and disciplined operator.
"Now is the time for the state governments to invest in their regional air services, otherwise, once Rex collapses, many regional ports may never have a regional air service any more as few can have the efficiencies and management expertise of Rex.
"In addition, the state governments should follow the example of the federal government by waiving fees and taxes."
Premier Peter Gutwein said: "The service provided by Rex to Burnie and King Island is a very important one for those communities and Tasmania in general and I've asked my office to make contact with Rex and the local government owners of the airports."