Qantas to suspend direct Wagga to Melbourne flights amid plane and workforce shortages

The suspension will officially commence on August 1 and is set to last until March next year.

A QantasLink spokesperson said the decision was made due to a lack of aircraft.

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"Unfortunately, we've had to suspend our Wagga to Melbourne flights due to a temporary change in aircraft availability that impacts our Wagga schedule," the spokesperson said.

Customers with bookings that have been impacted by the suspension are being contacted and will be provided with a number of options including a flight credit or refund.

Business Manager at the Wagga Business Chamber Serena Hardwick met to discuss the issue with Qantas on the issue on Wednesday morning and said workforce shortages were also a factor behind the decision.

"We're sure the decision was not made due to a lack of confidence in the Wagga market," Ms Hardwick said.

"Qantas remains confident in the Wagga market and that the service will return as soon as it can."

"Qantas are clearly really struggling with resources at the moment and from a business perspective, we can understand they need to consider what they do have available and make decisions based on that."

Qantas also flies regularly to Sydney and has been running services direct to Brisbane since March, and Ms Hardwick said it's good to see these continue.

"We're still getting regular services to Sydney and Brisbane at this point in time.

"Brisbane has been a service we have wanted for a long time, so we're very happy to see it remain."

Ms Hardwick said while there will be less direct Melbourne flights in the coming months, Rex will continue to offer its services.

She said while the reduction in flights to Melbourne won't make it more difficult to travel there, it will take more coordination.

"It's a very tough industry to be in right now, so we completely understand the necessity of the decision Qantas has made," she said.

Wagga mayor Dallas Tout was advised of the change late on Tuesday and agreed with Ms Hardwick.

"In the post-COVID world that we now live, it's difficult for flights and businesses to manage staffing and availabilty of aircraft," Cr Tout said.

"We've had long relationships with both Rex and Qantas and people are still able to access Rex services as is," he said.

"Yes, this temporary change will have an impact, but it's a suspension and not a cancellation of the service.

"I look forward to us continuing to use the Rex service and also the recommencement of the Qantas service next March."

Qantas currently operates three return flights between Melbourne and Wagga each week.

In comparison, Qantas runs 18 return flights per week to Sydney and three per week to Brisbane.

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