Job cuts to come at Canberra airport, CEO Stephen Byron says

"The ramifications will come to Canberra," Stephen Byron said on what he called "a very difficult day for Qantas".

"We think that we will, sadly, be hit because traffic is very much down here."

He said that the airport was operating on only 3 per cent of its pre-crisis level.

Canberra's Qantas workers were also fearing for their livelihoods, according to Transport Workers Union ACT branch official Ben Sweaney.

"Members are anxious and want to see what the plan is and would have liked to have been involved in the discussions," he said.

The union leader said about 70 Qantas ground staff in Canberra had been working a shared fortnight roster, working two weeks on, two weeks off, since the pandemic grounded planes across the country.

"We're hopeful the impacts won't be as dramatic in the ACT as they perhaps will be at other ports," Mr Sweaney said.

"All aviation workers are hoping the government can intervene and provide a form of airline keeper, like they've done with JobKeeper for other industries."

Mr Byron fired a broadside at premiers of the states that remain closed to flights from outside.

He's been lobbying for flights to Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia but got nowhere.

"There's no question that these borders remaining closed, in conflict with the advice of the national chief medical officer, has cost more jobs," he said.

"It's costing jobs here for Qantas. It will cost jobs for Virgin and, sadly, it will cost more jobs in the flow on industries such as the airport catering companies, the fuel companies, the retailers, the rental cars.

"We've got six rental car companies here who have hardly rented a car in the last 16 weeks. We need to get back to business so those people have jobs and livelihoods.

"You can't have a domestic aviation or travel industry unless the state borders are opened so I say to the premiers, 'Please, open your borders and save more jobs that will be lost if you don't'."

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The airport has been lobbying vigorously to get access to more places.

Flights to Sydney and Melbourne have been increased, though the effect of the spike in infections in Melbourne may dent demand.

Mr Byron has also lobbied the New Zealand government to try to get flights going between Wellington and Canberra as a safe link between two "islands" of low, virtually zero infections.

New Zealand has rejected the appeal, presumably because there is still free movement of people (and so potentially of the virus) between Canberra and Melbourne, for example.

The airport has started flights to the coast of northern New South Wales because the Gold Coast just to the north is closed to outsiders.

Apart from opening borders, the airport head wants more people back at work.

"Business travel is critical to fill our hotels and our restaurants and our cafes and our accommodation. ... To do that, we need people in the office," Mr Byron said.