Opposition critical of State Government for not listening to concerns ahead of Rex Airlines contract renewal

Community concerns have been ignored, according to the Opposition, following a five-year contract being awarded to Rex Airlines to continue operating the air route between Albany and Perth. The airline was awarded a contract last week that will see it continue to have exclusive rights to commercial flights between Albany and the State’s capital until the middle of 2028. Rex was one of two companies that showed interest in operating on the route through a competitive tender process. It was one of four regional air route contracts announced last week which will all see airlines continue to operate the routes they previously had exclusive rights to under existing contracts. The contract was awarded despite increasing concerns in the community this year about frequent delays and cancellations flying into and out of Albany Regional Airport. Deputy Opposition Leader Peter Rundle said air services in regional WA were a necessity that the Government had a responsibility to get right. “To date, the WA Labor Government has failed to consider what local communities feel about the performance of the airline before they lock in the five-year contract,” he said. He said he was often contacted by people negatively affected by unreliable services. “I have now brought these concerns to the minister, who couldn’t even answer a simple question in the name of regional WA,” he said. “We are currently organising to meet with the Rex airlines executive team to raise with them the genuine concerns in an attempt to find workable solutions for our regional communities.” In parliament last week, Mr Rundle asked Transport Minister Rita Saffioti if any measures would be put in place to ensure Rex meets its obligations and if there were steps that could be taken if the airline failed to meet those obligations. In response, Ms Saffioti told parliament community concern had been raised with her by Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens, but cancellation and on-time performance rates compared with other airlines in WA were “not the worst”. “The problem in these ports is it is the only service, so people feel the impact of any cancellation because there are no other services,” she said. “I understand the community concern.” She said she had spoken to Rex’s managing director and believed the airline needed to communicate better “in particular when there is a performance issue”. She said the airline had hired additional pilots and was “giving priority to WA services ahead of over-east services”. “With all those considerations and because of the decision-making of the independent assessment panel, Rex has held on to those areas,” she said. “Going forward, there are targets for on-time performance and cancellation, as well as direct communication. “I will say that Rex’s performance is in line with the marker, and I am not about to basically cut from WA an airline that sometimes is the only airline willing to service some of our communities.” Shadow tourism minister Merome Beard said regional tourism was under pressure which had been compounded by poor service. “It’s never been so competitive to catch the tourism dollar with a key pillar to securing regional WA’s ongoing success is access to reliable transport services,” she said. “Visitors and local residents missing connections or having to travel hundreds of kilometres because of cancelled flights is far too common. “Every impacted traveller and family will be watching the minister to make sure she takes her head out of the sand and begins to listen.”