Troubled airline’s administrators terminate all staff

Unions representing Bonza Airlines employees have slammed liquidators after hundreds of cabin crew and workers were sacked.

Transcript

00:00 Well, staff met with administrators this morning.

00:05 It was an online meeting.

00:06 We understand it was about 15 minutes late, which only added to the frustration that the

00:10 staff have been feeling throughout this entire process.

00:13 But in this meeting, they were informed that they have been let go.

00:17 There's about 320 employees who worked for Bonza, this regional airline which launched

00:22 on the Sunshine Coast with much fanfare last year.

00:25 But then of course in April this year, there was a dramatic downfall when all of a sudden

00:30 flights were cancelled across the country.

00:32 Now when those flights were cancelled, those staff were then stood down and were basically

00:37 waiting along with everyone else to see what would happen with their future.

00:41 So while they've been waiting, they haven't been able to work for other companies.

00:43 They can get casual jobs.

00:45 We've understood some of these cabin crew were walking dogs just to try and make ends

00:48 meet while they were waiting to see what was happening with their employment.

00:52 So in some ways, having this news today has ended the uncertainty, but it still means

00:59 that they have to wait for their entitlements.

01:01 These workers are still in limbo.

01:04 No jobs, that's been confirmed today, thank you very much.

01:08 But also no access to the government support system.

01:12 So the administrators should get a move on.

01:15 Clearly, and unfortunately, Bonza has gone down and the administrators now should get

01:21 a wriggle on, finalise this process so workers can access the government scheme.

01:27 In terms of where the company's at at the moment, they're still looking for another

01:31 potential buyer to try and resurrect Bonza.

01:35 It's been a challenge though and we understand that there has been no buyer locked in yet.

01:40 If the company does end up going into liquidation, then that will mean that the staff will have

01:46 to try and recoup their money potentially through the federal government.

01:49 If the company is bought out though by another company, they will be among the priority list

01:54 I guess for the creditors.

01:55 So they're among the creditors, not to mention all the passengers that lost money when this

02:00 company went into administration as well.

02:03 So it had debts totaling more than $116 million when it went into administration.

02:09 So as these developments come about, the hope that it will be resurrected, it starts to

02:15 look less and less optimistic.

02:17 But I think for everyone's sake, I guess the aviation industry's sake as well, having the

02:22 cheaper flights, I think everyone's still hoping that Bonza can get back in the air.

02:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]