This was published 1 year ago
Airport delays: Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka says airlines and airports need to get 'match fit'
By Craig Platt
Virgin Australia chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka expects large numbers of Australians to keep travelling now that restrictions have eased.Credit: Dan Peled
Virgin Australia chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka has said airlines and airports, not passengers, need to get themselves "match fit" in the wake of long queues seen at airports during the Easter holidays.
The comments come after Qantas boss Alan Joyce came under fire for suggesting delays at airports were partly being caused by passengers not being "match fit" for travel. Joyce later said there were multiple factors including staff shortages due to COVID-19 isolation rules.
Hrdlicka, speaking at the opening of Virgin's invite-only Beyond lounge on Wednesday, said she expected the volume of passengers seen during the Easter holidays to continue.
"I think it's up to airlines and the airports to get ourselves match fit to support that volume," she said.
The Easter weekend was the busiest at Australian airports for more than two years, with hundreds of thousands of travellers taking advantage of all state borders being open and the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions across the country.
But staff shortages due to COVID-19 isolation requirements meant many security lanes at major airports were closed, creating long delays for passengers, while there were also shortages for baggage handlers and even pilots.
Hrdlicka said she expected the volumes of passengers to continue.
"I think it's so exciting to have so many people back out travelling and it is a great testament to the fact that we're now into the endemic stage with the coronavirus and we're all getting back to the new normal," she said.
The CEO caused controversy in May last year when she told a business lunch that international borders should reopen once enough Australians were vaccinated, even if it meant "some people will die". It led to calls on social media to boycott the airline, despite her comments proving correct as restrictions eased.
In June, Hrdlicka said business travel was unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels due to the rise of video conferencing, but this week said that business travel was indeed returning.
"The mix will probably be more weighted towards leisure travel than maybe it was in the past, but business travel is definitely back. We see it with small-to-medium sized businesses: it's almost back to normal," she said.
Larger businesses were beginning to re-establish relationships face-to-face, she said.
"They've got footprints across the country, they have clients and customers across the country and relationships are the lifeblood of every business and relationships are a perishable asset. And if you don't invest in those relationships, they run down in value," she said.
Virgin is yet to return to international travel, but has plans to resume flights to Bali, Fiji and New Zealand this year. While all these destinations are now open, the airline has not rushed to resume flights despite rival carriers increasing frequency on the routes.
Hrdlicka cited ongoing uncertainty for the airline's cautious approach.
"Given how volatile things have been it doesn't make a lot of sense to build expectations and then not have that play through because circumstances just change too quickly," she said.
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