Rex Airlines have announced their decision to end the Whyalla to Adelaide flight route, citing having to pay the security screening of $35-$40 per passenger as the reason.
Currently, the Federal Government covers the cost of the screening but with current funding set to cease on the 1st of July, the city’s council has been lobbying for ongoing Federal funding for screening with no luck.
Rex’s General Manager of Network Strategy, Warrick Lodge said Whyalla City Council’s decision to not subsidise the screening costs and force Rex to pay them is a devious and underhanded attempt to have the airline cover the screening costs that would also benefit Qantas.
Whyalla Mayor Phil Stone has responded by saying that Rex is simply us in the council as a scapegoat for its own decisions.
You can read Rex’s media release here and the Whyalla Council’s response here