Virgin axes Melbourne-Townsville route

Virgin axes Melbourne-Townsville route

Virgin Australia has cancelled flights between Melbourne and Townsville indefinitely, as the route is no longer “commercially sustainable.”

Australia’s second biggest airline has been emailing customers with flights booked from 22 March, telling them that their bookings “may be affected by these changes.”

Virgin has confirmed that it will no longer be running the direct Melbourne-Townsville route.

“After a detailed review, we have made the difficult decision to continue suspension of the Melbourne-Townsville route indefinitely. We understand this decision will be disappointing to some guests and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience,” the corporate affairs spokesperson said.

“Guests who had booked to travel on impacted services are being proactively contacted by Virgin Australia or their travel provider to provide alternative arrangements. Where an alternative is not suitable, guests will be offered a full refund.

“While the route is not commercially viable in the current environment, we continually reassess opportunities as circumstances change.”

This change has turned the trip into a five hour route that runs via Brisbane.

Despite this update, the airline still has the route listed for sale beyond 22 March.

The other two airlines operating this route are Jetstar and Qantas, which are both owned by Qantas Group.

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