As lockdowns and border closures ramp up along the eastern states and South Australia, Rex is taking the unprecedented step of temporarily suspending all of its Boeing 737 flights. Rex’s changes will impact regional communities as well, with ‘greatly reduced’ services on some routes served by its Saab 340 turboprops.

The affected area covers flights within and between New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania. Regional towns within those states will see reduced frequencies on some routes for the next few weeks.

Rex Route Map 25 March 2021
Rex’s full network map as of 25 March 2021.

Rex’s six-strong Boeing 737 fleet covers Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Canberra and Adelaide – all are impacted by the suspension, with flights cancelled until at least the start of August 2021.

Manage your booking and see if your flight is impacted here →

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Easy refunds through the portal

One point of difference Rex is eager to point out is that how easy it is for affected customers to get a refund with the carrier. You’ll find it much easier to finalise a refund with Rex than with any other Australian domestic carrier.

Simply hop on to the Rex Refund Portal and enter some details about your tickets. Rex will refund all eligible tickets – you’ll see your money being returned to the original form of payment within only a few days.

Rex’s COVID Refund Portal ensures that our passengers receive their money in the bank within 2-3 days of making an eligible refund request through our automated portal. This gives our passengers the complete peace of mind to make their flight bookings without worry of any snap lockdowns and subsequent loss of money

– Hon John Sharp AM, Rex Deputy Chairman, 21 July 2022

Summing up

Winding down the 737 flights is arguably the best step for Rex to take right now. With its smaller market share and dwindling passenger numbers (through recent lockdowns, that is), each empty flight it operates is a massive drain on the airline’s cashflow.

Although inter-city Boeing 737 flights are scheduled to kick off again from early August, it’s anyone’s guess as to how long these lockdowns and border restrictions will last for. With how the daily case numbers are going, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the flight suspensions pushed out a few more weeks, unfortunately.

Also read: COVID-19 change and cancellation policies for Australian domestic airlines →

Rex suspends all Boeing 737 flights amid mass border closures was last modified: August 24th, 2023 by Brandon Loo