The airline company is still operating its regional Saab 340 services, but its flights between major city airports have been cancelled, impacting thousands of travellers across Australia.

Virgin Australia has offered replacement tickets for impacted passengers free of charge.

An ASX trading halt on Rex – also known as Regional Express – was called on Monday, 29 July, 2024, with the company going into voluntary administration on Tuesday, 30 July.

EY has been appointed as the company’s administrator.

The Transport Workers Union says more than 600 jobs have been lost as a result of the airline’s collapse, with 360 jobs set to be made redundant.

“It is another dark day for aviation,” says Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine.

The crux of the problem for the embattled airline has been its operation of routes between Australia’s major capital cities.

Rex has taken on Qantas and Virgin on these highly competitive routes, but of late it has been costing $1 million a week to remain in the air between major cities.

The collapse of Rex comes on the back of low-cost Bonza airlines going under in April 2024, just 15 months after it launched.

It is unclear whether the Federal Government will step in to help Rex, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers stating there have been preliminary discussions, but it remains unknown whether taxpayers will help keep the airline flying.

The government’s priority is to ensure “regional services continue”, according to Chalmers.

“Transport Minister Catherine King is talking with the other airlines to make sure if there’s job losses, the other airlines can re-employ and re-deploy some of the workers,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed concern about Rex diversifying from its traditional regional operations, especially on the back of the airline receiving government financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of the things I expressed concern about was having no conditions [on the government support] so Rex, for example, moved away from its traditional role of being a regional airline into flights from Sydney to Melbourne,” he said recently.

Minister King says the Federal Government is working with Rex and EY to keep the airline in the skies.

“Rex is an important airline for regional and remote communities, and its continuation is in the best interests of regional Australians, the travelling public, its workers and the aviation sector,” she said.

“The government will work closely with the administrator to determine a path forward that ensures regional aviation has a strong future in this country.”