Virgin Australia: 19 destinations temporarily axed, lounges closed

Introduction

Previously Virgin Australia announced it was cutting its capacity by 50%, now it is upping that to 90%, and that includes the suspension of TigerAir Australia domestic flights immediately.

From midnight 27 March, until 14 June 2020, Virgin Australia will suspend services to 19 Australian destinations, temporarily:

• Albury
• Alice Springs
• Ayers Rock (Uluru)
• Ballina Byron
• Cloncurry
• Coffs Harbour
• Darwin
• Emerald
• Hamilton Island
• Hervey Bay
• Hobart
• Launceston
• Mildura
• Mount Isa
• Newcastle
• Port Macquarie (codeshare with Alliance Airlines)
• Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore)
• Tamworth
• Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine)

Virgin and Tiger Customers

If you are booked to travel between now and 30 June 2020 then visit the Virgin Australia website at virginaustralia.com for a travel credit online or for more information about your options. Under Australian consumer law, you can also request a refund.
 
If you are booked on a Virgin Australia or Tigerair Australia flight between now and 31 March 2020 you can change your flight (if it departs before 27 March) without paying change fees or fare difference. Such changes are obviously subject to availability.

Lounge Closures

Virgin Australia has also closed all its Australian Lounges, as of 23 March, in accordance with current social distancing requirements. So presumably even the temporary pop-up lounge in Adelaide will close.

2PAXfly Takeout

It will be interesting to see if this results in the early death of Tiger Air, or the limping survival of it and Virgin Australia, or both. That is speculation for another time, although it doesn’t seem to have stopped Alan Joyce (CEO Qantas) wishing for their demise, nor the intercession of the Australian Company and Consumer Commission.