Virgin Blue will recommence flights to Broome next month after the airline was forced to cancel flights from Perth throughout May due to a shortage of available pilots.
Competitor Skywest took up the slack, putting on two additional flights a week. Passengers booked on Virgin Blue flights were able to transfer their ticket to Skywest, fly with Virgin Blue but at a later date, or take a refund.
A spokeswoman for Virgin Blue told Business Class the airline would recommence daily flights from Perth to Broome from the start of next month. She said the airline had scheduled nation-wide training for pilots, which meant the carrier had been faced with “less than normal” crew shortages during May.
However, the spokeswoman said the airline had tried to pre-plan the shutdown as much as possible to limit disruption for passengers.
Business Class understands several delegates to recent conferences were left paying more for airline tickets as a result of Virgin Blue’s withdrawal from Broome.
It has been reported that the nation-wide regional shortage is a result of Virgin Blue training its pilots for its new Embraer jets, due for deployment later this year.
Confirmation the airline will re-commence flights is welcome news for Broome’s tourism industry.
The number of tourists flying into Broome begins to pick up in June and remains busy until the end of August.
Broome International Airport figures indicate that 32,114 passengers flew in and out of Broome in June last year, increasing to 38,973 passengers in July, while 37,235 people took the journey in August.
The number of tourists flying in and out of the airport has surged from 201,186 in 2000 to 329,018 last year.
Those numbers are set to increase with representatives from the Broome Gateway Project believed to be close to securing a commitment from an international carrier for the commencement of direct flights to Singapore by the end of the year.
Business Class understands project organisers had been negotiating with four carriers but are now negotiating the route with three carriers.
