Qantas and Virgin will receive assistance to operate a 'minimum domestic network' across key metropolitan and regional centres as both airlines manage the significant financial impact of travel bans.

The network includes all state and territory capital cities and major regional centres including Wagga, Albury, Alice Springs, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Kalgoorlie, Mildura, Port Lincoln, Rockhampton, Tamworth and Townsville.

Last month, Qantas cut about 50 per cent of flights between Wagga and Sydney as part of a major reduction in domestic services across the country.

The funds are expected to guarantee a minimum of two return flights will be available each week in Wagga for the next two months before the system is reviewed.

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Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development minister Michael McCormack said while Australians were encouraged to stay at home, it was vital to keep flights in the air for essential purposes.

"We are ensuring secure and affordable access for passengers who need to travel, including our essential workers such as frontline medical personnel and defence personnel, as well as supporting the movement of essential freight such as critical medicine and personal protective equipment," Mr McCormack said.

"This investment will also help Australians returning from overseas, who find themselves in a different city after 14 days of mandatory quarantine, complete their journey home safely."

Murrumbidgee Local Health District virtual care district manager Phil Major said while the district was using telehealth as much as possible to provide specialist care and COVID-19 training, the availability of flights was "directly linked" to the level of acute care that could be provided across the region, which taps into specialist knowledge from metropolitan areas.

"There are some services that by their very nature need to be face to face," he said.

Mr Major said in rural communities there was also a reliance on locum doctors, with towns such as Griffith often staffed by professionals from Sydney.

"It really isolates our workforce if we don't have those flights," he said.

Wagga Mayor Greg Conkey said as the largest regional centre in NSW it was "vital" for the economy to maintain transport services.

"I know it's taken a huge hit at the moment but the Wagga economy still needs to function and this is one way that business can function by having these transport links with Sydney," he said.

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