Canberra airport closing Saturdays, amid calls for national approach to border closures

Airport chief executive Stephen Byron said it was likely the closures could be extended to two days a week as there was no rationale for keeping the airport open for "a handful of passengers and less than a handful of flights each day".

"Domestic aviation is shutdown with 2 to 3 per cent activity. We've gone backwards," he said.

"With the closure of the borders it looks like it could be until Christmas or maybe even as late as Easter when domestic aviation is able to restart unless we have a proper national plan."

Mr Byron said the extra days closed would not lead to additional job losses and would allow the airport to retain staff.

The airport would close on Saturdays from August 22.

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Mr Byron has called on a national strategy to revive the ailing industry, which would have national cabinet address decisions of state border closures based on medical advice.

"Air travel is very safe," Mr Byron said.

"There should be flights between Perth and Adelaide, there should be flights between Adelaide and Brisbane.

"We need that pathway to reopen the state borders incrementally and gradually so that we can fly by December of this year."

Queensland was the most recent state to close borders with the ACT and NSW on Saturday. Border restrictions are in place across every state, with travel restricted to all except NSW.

Mr Byron said there was no hope in sight for the industry.

"One of the reasons we continue to shutdown and gradually put the business to sleep is that there is no plan, there is no pathway and there is no hope," Mr Byron said.

"That's not just for us for a business, there are individuals' lives who need these jobs."

Virgin Airlines announced last week 3000 jobs would go as part of a restructure under new owners Bain Capital.

Last month, Qantas announced 6000 jobs were to be cut and a large number of aircraft grounded.

Transport Workers Union ACT branch official Ben Sweaney said the news came as a complete shock to staff.

He said the impact the announcement would have on workers was not yet known.

Airline unions had written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison for wage support akin to JobKeeper to be delivered to aviation workers who had missed out.

On Monday, shadow infrastructure minister Catherine King echoed that call.

"This plan could involve reductions in fees and charges as well as the extension of support to those workers previously cut out of the JobKeeper scheme," she said.