Australian national carrier Qantas has confirmed that it has formally applied for its QantasLink regional business to gain a licence to operate on the Moree – Sydney route, under the New South Wales (NSW) Government’s five-year regulated route licensing agreement. The carrier had launched immediate short-term relief flights for the Moree community before Christmas last year, following the collapse of Brindabella Airlines, which had flown the regulated route from March 2013.

Qantas is currently operating two daily return services on the route up until March 21, 2014, when the interim period ends and the five-year regulated route license agreement commences. Transport for NSW is expected to make its decision on which airline will be granted the license to operate on the route in the coming weeks.

“I’m delighted to announce that we have submitted a competitive tender to operate on the Moree – Sydney route,” said John Gissing, chief executive officer, QantasLink. “The community support for Qantas over the past couple of months has been truly overwhelming. While our decision to apply on the route was a commercial one, the community’s efforts have not gone unnoticed.”

“As the national carrier and the country’s largest regional airline, we understand the importance of reliable air travel for regional communities, like Moree. QantasLink proudly served the Moree community for 21 years up until March last year, and we know a lot of people were delighted when we returned temporarily a couple of months ago,” he added.

Moree is a large town located on the banks of the Mehi River in the centre of the rich black-soil plains of northern NSW. It is a major agricultural centre, noted for its part in the Australian cotton growing industry which was established there in the early 1960s. The large town has ambitions to develop into a major regional economic centre.