Blocking flights ‘could cost $500m’, but minister says it saves jobs

afr.com:

Blocking Qatar Airways from adding flights will cost the economy more than $500 million a year in tourism revenue, according to industry modelling, but Transport Minister Catherine King told parliament the decision was made to protect local jobs.

Numbers from airline industry sources seen by The Australian Financial Review detail a cost of between $540 million and $788 million annually in incremental economic activity, based on approximately 50 per cent of the seats being sold to overseas visitors.

Frustrations are growing in the transport sector as minister Catherine King remains unwilling to explain why she has blocked Qatar Airways’ request for extra capacity. Alex Ellinghausen

Virgin Australia, which had planned a “strategic alliance” with Qatar Airways, is also expected to suffer as a result of the decision because it will no longer be able to fly the Middle Eastern carrier’s extra international passengers to domestic ports across Australia.

Ms King, who has previously not clearly explained her decision to block Qatar Airways from expanding flights to Melbourne and Sydney, told parliament on Wednesday that she did so to protect the national interest.

“We only sign up to agreements that benefit our national interest, in all of its broad complexity, and that includes ensuring that we have an aviation sector, through the recovery, that employs Australian workers,” she said.

“The government has determined that agreeing to the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority request for additional services is not in our national interest, and we will always consider the need to ensure that there are long-term, well-paid, secure jobs by Australians in the aviation sector when we are making these decisions.”

The latest industry modelling