Australian airlines slash domestic capacity as omicron torpedoes demand

Just as most Australian states open up their internal borders, soaring COVID-19 case numbers are disrupting the network recoveries achieved in recent months by the country’s major airlines, proving once again how fragile such rebounds can be.

In Australia there have been record numbers of COVID-19 infections, thanks to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the virus. Virgin Australia was first to announce network capacity cuts in response to the latest coronavirus pandemic wave, with Qantas following soon after by scaling back its domestic and international capacity plans.