Qantas cancellations on Canberra-Sydney route hit record altitude

afr.com:

Canberra Airport boss Stephen Byron has called on Qantas to give a free flight to every passenger on the Canberra-Sydney route who has been stuck on the tarmac after the airline’s monthly cancellations hit a record high of almost 15 per cent.

QantasLink cancelled 14.8 per cent of flights between the nation’s capital and Sydney last month, well above the 3.8 per cent of flights ditched by Virgin Australia, and an increase on the airline’s 11.5 per cent cancellation rate in July.

Canberra Airport boss Stephen Byron. Kirsty Umback

Mr Byron said more than two flights every day were cancelled by QantasLink in August. Qantas has about 16 direct daily flights to Sydney from Canberra.

“Now is the time for the federal government to step in – after all, the standard you walk past is the standard you accept,” Mr Byron said.

“Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson should be compensating all travellers who have had a flight cancelled on this route through the offer of a free flight and should make a strong commitment to rebuilding trust amongst consumers,” he said.

Mr Bryon, who on Friday told a Senate inquiry into bilateral air service agreements that Qantas needed to be “brought to heel”, wants the federal government to fine airlines for unnecessary cancellations and remove their flight slots.

Qantas acknowledged that cancellations on the Canberra-Sydney route were “unacceptably high” in August but said that as a higher-frequency route, it was easier to shift passengers onto other flights than on routes with fewer flights such as Canberra-Adelaide and Canberra-Melbourne.

“We are working hard to improve services on our Canberra to Sydney route and cancellations have reduced this month,” a Qantas spokeswoman said. “We expect this improved