SYDNEY- Regional Express (Rex), Australia’s third-largest airline, has entered voluntary administration, grounding all flights between capital cities.
The decision follows an emergency board meeting on Tuesday evening (July 30, 2024), marking a significant disruption in Australia’s aviation sector.
Rex Voluntary Administration
The airline has stood down 360 of its 2,000 employees, with over 600 jobs at risk if regional operations are also grounded.
Competitors Qantas Airways (QR) and Virgin Australia (VA) have pledged to hire affected Rex employees where possible, mitigating some of the immediate job losses.
Rex, which has served Australia’s regional routes for 21 years, expanded to 11 major domestic routes after the COVID-19 pandemic, including the competitive Golden Triangle between Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), and Brisbane (BNE). The airline’s most recent major route, connecting Melbourne and Perth, launched just last month.
Despite capturing 5% of the domestic passenger market, Rex has struggled with consecutive losses for years. The airline faced challenges…