Call for action as Qantas cuts flights to Alice Springs

Tourism in the Red Centre has been dealt a blow with Qantas announcing it will slash 30,000 seats on flights to Central Australia during this year's peak season between March to October, blaming a drop in demand.

The government is being called upon to do more to encourage competition in the aviation industry.

In a statement Tourism Minister Nicole Manison said the government would continue lobbying Qantas for more access to flights while also working with other carriers to lift capacity.

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Qantas said it had forecast higher demand which "hasn't materialised" so will be cutting flights to Alice Springs plus using smaller planes on some routes.

"Across the Northern Territory, we are actually increasing capacity over the coming months and will be back above our pre-COVID flying by the middle of the year," the airline said.

Qantas operates up to 38 return flights per week from Alice Springs, it said.

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