The passenger terminal at Canberra Airport has closed its doors for two days because there were no scheduled international or domestic flights.
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The terminal closed on April 15 and is set to reopen on Friday, April 17.
In a statement on Canberra Airport's website, property and aviation marketing manager Jemma Delamont said the COVID-19 pandemic had caused a great reduction in passenger flights and in the number of people moving through the airport.
"This is the first time that the terminal at Canberra Airport has had to close due to a lack of scheduled flights from all of the airlines.
"The airport runway remains operational for general aviation, emergency flights, government and air force flights."
Travel restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 has halted international flights to Canberra and reduced the number of domestic flights by 95 per cent.
Qantas is operating limited services from Canberra to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. FlyPelican is operating flights from Canberra to Newcastle. Virgin cut all domestic service except for one Sydney to Melbourne service as of April 10.
The airport outlined "business continuity measures" it has implemented in order to save money during the coronavirus crisis.
These include closing carparks, turning off electricity to some parts of the airport, closing one screening point so goods and passengers use the same screening point and closing the western concourse of the terminal.
Only one food outlet is operating in the terminal on reduced hours while some terminal staff are taking leave and others are working from home.
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Qantas and Virgin have close their lounges while hire car operators and the flight tower have cut down the number of staff on their rosters.
The cross-runway is temporarily closed, with the main runway available for small aircraft.
"The temporary change also allows for business continuity cost savings and is a change that was made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and not any other planning," the statement said.
"Emergency service aircraft and essential government aircraft have taken this temporary change in their stride and continue to operate out of Canberra Airport."
Canberra Airport was also forced to cancel its popular open day, which was scheduled for April 5.
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- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
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Sarah Lansdown
Sarah covers all stages of education in the capital, from early childhood to higher education. Previously she was a general news reporter at The Advocate in North West Tasmania. She was named Best New Journalist at the 2019 Tasmanian Media Awards for a series on paramedic shortages. Email: sarah.lansdown@canberratimes.com.au
Sarah covers all stages of education in the capital, from early childhood to higher education. Previously she was a general news reporter at The Advocate in North West Tasmania. She was named Best New Journalist at the 2019 Tasmanian Media Awards for a series on paramedic shortages. Email: sarah.lansdown@canberratimes.com.au
