Flight Centre boss appeals for Australian borders to be reopened after announcing 91 store closures

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Flight Centre boss appeals for Australian borders to be reopened after announcing 91 store closures

The boss of Flight Centre has issued a desperate plea for Australia’s borders to be reopened ‘as soon as possible’ after more store closures were announced.

The company will close another 91 stores across the country with hundreds of staff expected to lose their jobs as the coronavirus pandemic continues to take a crippling toll on the travel industry.

Chief executive Graham Turner has called for Australia’s international borders to be reopened in wake of the company’s latest ‘right-sizing’ closures.

Flight Centre has announced it will close another 91 stores across Australia in a move Graham Turner described as ‘right-sizing’. Pictured is a store in Melbourne

Australia’s borders remain shut to international arrivals and departures to control the spread of COVID-19 until at least December 17. 

‘We have to live with this virus,’ Mr Turner told ABC News Breakfast on Thursday morning.

‘A vaccine is still some months away — and even if it’s here, the virus will still be around for at least two or three years. 

‘No-one wants to be overwhelmed by too many infections, but if you accept that we can’t eliminate it, which most people do, it is about living with it.’

He had this plea for the to federal and state, along with health authorities. 

‘We need the Australian borders open, we need the New Zealand Trans-Tasman [bubble] up and running as soon as possible,’ Mr Turner said. 

‘I’m part of an industry group that’s helping formulate some strategy to deal with this, with the governments, and hopefully that’s going to happen fairly quickly.’

Graham Turner wants to see a Trans-Tasman travel bubble open up between Australia and  New Zealand. Pictured are tourists taking a selfie at New Zealand’s Milford Sound

The latest store closures and job cuts are in addition to 4,000 Flight Centre already let go in the past six months due to the pandemic.

Around 332 Flight Centre stores remain, less than half of the 740 prior to COVID-19 hitting Australia’s shores in January.

Mr Turner said some staff affected by the latest closures would move to call centre and online roles.

‘Bear in mind, we’re in 23 countries as an organisation. So, it varies a lot with each country. This is really about Australia. We have had a huge network here,’ he told the ABC.

‘A lot of these shops will be more heavily staffed than they were in the past so we’ll be building them back up with staff coming back on board as the business returns,” 

The coronavirus pandemic continues to take a crippling toll on the travel industry. Pictured are travellers arriving at Sydney International Airport on September 18

Around 60 of the remaining stores are expected to remain closed for another 6-12 months while international travel bans remain in place.

‘Without question, the past six months have been the most challenging period in our almost 40 years in business,’ Flight Centre managing director James Kavanagh said in a statement on Wednesday night.

‘Never before had we imagined – let alone faced – a scenario whereby all discretionary travel would be halted for a prolonged period. 

‘We are incredibly sorry that some of our great people are not able to continue on their Flight Centre journey with us at this time but we are taking steps to preserve as many roles as possible for the future, while building a smaller but stronger overall network.’ 

The company announced a full-year $662 million loss in August.

Source: Daily Mail Australia | News Colony

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