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ABC News
ABC News
Business
By Kathleen Ferguson

Fly Corporate to resume regional services after wings clipped by COVID-19

Fly Corporate will begin servicing regional centres again after being given a lifeline from the Federal Government.

The Commonwealth Government will underwrite the service's costs for six weeks as part of its $300 million regional aviation package to ease the downturn caused by coronavirus.

It will allow the airline to return to Tamworth, Orange, Dubbo and Wollongong from May 4.

"It is wonderful — it means we can get some of our people back to work, get some cash flowing through the business and, more importantly, get some services back to the regions we service," Fly Corporate's manager Jeff Boyd said.

"There will be two return services a week conducted over four days.

"We will do a big loop down from Brisbane, through Tamworth, Dubbo, Orange, down onto Melbourne, and then pick up our eastern coast of Wollongong, and then back through to Brisbane."

Long haul to recovery

Mr Boyd said the airline had taken a massive hit from COVID-19, losing 90 per cent of its business in the space of three days.

The airline had to suspend all its services because of the downturn.

He said the road back to prosperity for the airline would be long.

"It will be a long time for all airlines to rebuild their market," Mr Boyd said.

"We are not looking at being back at a normal schedule and normal operations anytime this year."

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