The continuing pilot shortage has forced Australia's largest regional airline, Regional express (Rex) to abandon plans to resume services from Sydney to Cooma, NSW, over winter.
Rex general manager for network strategy and sales, Warrick Lodge, said the original plan to resume services from June 6 assumed there would be a lessening of pilot recruitment by the major carriers over winter.
"Unfortunately this was not to be the case and in the most recent month of April, Rex experienced 5pc attrition in our pilot ranks, with the attrition rate this full year tracking above 50pc."
Rex has also announced reductions in mainly weekend services from Adelaide to Mount Gambier, Melbourne to Mount Gambier, Mildura and Albury and Sydney to Griffith.
Mr Lodge said however Rex hoped to achieve a gradual resumption of these flights when trainee pilots started to graduate from its Australian Airline Pilot Academy later this year.
Customers with reservations for Cooma and other affected flights can contact Rex on 131 713 for a full refund.
SOURCE: The Land, NSW.
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