THEN WHAT?
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BusinessAustralia · 2024

What happened after Rex entered administration?

Air T bought the regional airline after its capital-city jets were grounded. Some services returned, but Rex has now announced that its Sydney links to Orange and Port Macquarie will stop from 25 October.

This update: 14 October 2026 · Latest recorded development
Article revised 16 October 2026

THE ORIGINAL STORY30 July 2024
Neale Prior and Dylan Caporn
30 July 2024
Rex goes under: Regional Express Airlines grounds planes on capital city routes as administrators called in
Rex Boeing jet in the original West Australian administration reportEd Turner · via The West Australian
Read the original report

The jets stopped. The regional airline kept flying.

The West Australian and 7NEWS reported Rex’s voluntary administration on 30 July 2024. The newspaper’s original headline and credited aircraft image preserve the capital-city grounding story; the 7NEWS report distinguished grounded jets from continuing regional Saab services. That distinction is the starting point for this follow-up. Administration did not end every Rex flight, and survival did not mean an immediate return to its former network.

7NEWS

AAP · 30 July 2024

Rex Airlines enters voluntary administration, cancels all flights between major airports

THEN WHAT?

Rex survived. Two regional routes now face another setback.

Symbolic photoreal dot-screen image of a regional turboprop aircraft

Rex’s regional operation survived administration and Air T completed its acquisition in December 2025. The recovery has since moved in both directions: the ACCC recorded some flights returning, but October brought an announced suspension of the Sydney–Orange and Sydney–Port Macquarie routes from 25 October. The airline attributed the decision to fuel costs and demand. Saving the business did not secure every regional connection.

The story, in dates

Event dates
Scroll back through the story
  1. “Rex goes under: Regional Express Airlines grounds planes on capital city routes as administrators called in”

    The West Australian · Original headline

  2. The jet grounding did not mean every Rex flight stopped

    Rex’s domestic Boeing 737 flights between major cities were grounded when administrators were appointed.

  3. Regional support

    Government financing announced during administration.

  4. Creditors backed a buyer, with completion still to come

    A majority of creditors supported Air T’s bid at the second meeting of creditors.

  5. New owner

    Air T announced the acquisition had closed.

  6. Route reductions

    Changes to Tasmanian services announced.

  7. The new owner described a fleet still being restored

    Air T’s August results release reported 32 active Rex aircraft, with 30 scheduled on regular services.

  8. Some services restored

    The ACCC recorded additional regional flights returning.

  9. Two suspensions announced

    Sydney–Orange and Sydney–Port Macquarie flights are to stop from 25 October; no restart date.

31 July 2024

The jet grounding did not mean every Rex flight stopped

Rex’s domestic Boeing 737 flights between major cities were grounded when administrators were appointed. Its regional Saab services continued. The government’s next-day account confirmed that distinction. It mattered to communities that relied on the smaller aircraft: the airline could lose its capital-city operation while still providing regional connections. The original newspaper photograph shows the jet business at the centre of the first-day grounding headline. The later story follows the regional operation that remained.

Initial administration and regional services · Australian Government · 31 July 2024

12 November 2024

Financing kept the regional business going while a buyer was sought

The Australian Government announced financing of up to A$80 million to maintain regional services during an extension of the administration process. This was support for continued operations while the business’s future was being worked out. It was not an announcement that a sale had been completed, that the jet network would restart, or that every creditor would recover what they were owed. Those are separate questions from whether aircraft could keep serving regional communities during administration.

Regional support financing · Australian Government · 12 November 2024

11 November 2025

Creditors backed a buyer, with completion still to come

A majority of creditors supported Air T’s bid at the second meeting of creditors. The government said Rex would operate under a binding deed of company arrangement while the remaining transaction steps were finalised. It also described a support package including a loan of up to A$60 million and restructuring of existing government debt, linked to commitments on regional connectivity and governance. The vote was a significant step towards a new owner, but the announcement itself made clear that it was not yet the completed transfer.

Creditors approve Air T bid · Australian Government · 11 November 2025

18 December 2025 · completion announced

Air T completed the acquisition

Air T announced the successful closing of its Rex acquisition on 18 December. Rex’s own company overview also dates its new ownership from December 2025. Air T’s announcement included financing intended to restore more Saab aircraft to service. Its fleet expansion was a plan for the following years, rather than a claim that all those aircraft were already flying. The regional airline had secured a new owner; that settled the sale question without settling every question about future routes and capacity.

Acquisition completed · Air T · 18 December 2025 · Rex company overview · ownership since December 2025

22 May 2026

New ownership was followed by further route reductions

The Tasmanian government responded to Rex’s announced withdrawal from Melbourne–Devonport. Pulse Tasmania also reported the planned end of the King Island–Burnie hop, with the changes due in June. Other services to King Island and Burnie were to remain. These were specific route decisions, not a shutdown of the whole regional airline. They also show why the acquisition cannot stand in for a complete recovery: communities’ connections can change after a business has been sold.

Network changes · Tasmania Government · 22 May 2026 · Tasmanian route changes · Pulse Tasmania · 22 May 2026

August 2026

The new owner described a fleet still being restored

Air T’s August results release reported 32 active Rex aircraft, with 30 scheduled on regular services. It identified unscheduled engine removals and external maintenance turnaround times as constraints on aircraft availability. That is the parent company’s account of its own operation, not an independent certification of fleet condition. It establishes the narrower point that aircraft availability and network restoration were still part of the recovery work after the takeover.

Fleet recovery · Air T results released August 2026

15 September 2026 · report published

The regulator recorded some regional services returning

The ACCC’s September report recorded additional Orange–Sydney services returning from mid-August after a temporary winter reduction. It also recorded a return service being reinstated on Port Macquarie–Sydney after another aircraft returned to service. These are concrete examples of services being restored, rather than only promised. The report does not establish that the entire former network or capital-city jet operation returned. Read alongside the new owner’s fleet update, the position is a continuing regional recovery with some progress already visible.

Restored regional services · ACCC September 2026 report · page 12 · September report release date · ACCC · 15 September 2026

14 October 2026 · reported

Two routes face suspension after services had returned

The September signs of recovery were followed by a setback. ABC News reported that Rex would indefinitely suspend flights between Sydney and both Orange and Port Macquarie from 25 October. These are the same regional links where the ACCC had recently recorded services returning.

Rex blamed sustained high aviation fuel prices and insufficient passenger demand. Those are the airline’s explanations for its decision. The announcement gives passengers a proposed stopping date, but no firm date for a restart. Local MP Alison Penfold’s statement also recorded the Port Macquarie suspension and said the airline would consider resuming flights if fuel prices became commercially sustainable.

The distinction is familiar from the original story: losing particular routes does not mean every Rex aircraft has stopped flying. But for people relying on those connections, the rescue of the company and the survival of their local service are different outcomes. As of this update, 25 October remains ahead.

Two route suspensions announced · ABC News · 14 October 2026 · Port Macquarie suspension and airline explanation · Alison Penfold MP · 14 October 2026 · Schedule changes from 25 October · AeroRoutes · 15 October 2026

The evidence

Sources for this update

  1. 01Initial administration and regional services · Australian Government · 31 July 2024
  2. 02Regional support financing · Australian Government · 12 November 2024
  3. 03Creditors approve Air T bid · Australian Government · 11 November 2025
  4. 04Acquisition completed · Air T · 18 December 2025
  5. 05Rex company overview · ownership since December 2025
  6. 06Network changes · Tasmania Government · 22 May 2026
  7. 07Tasmanian route changes · Pulse Tasmania · 22 May 2026
  8. 08Fleet recovery · Air T results released August 2026
  9. 09Restored regional services · ACCC September 2026 report · page 12
  10. 10September report release date · ACCC · 15 September 2026
  11. 11Two route suspensions announced · ABC News · 14 October 2026
  12. 12Port Macquarie suspension and airline explanation · Alison Penfold MP · 14 October 2026
  13. 13Schedule changes from 25 October · AeroRoutes · 15 October 2026

Where the story stands

The airline survived. Regional connections remain uncertain.

The takeover is complete, and the regional airline continues. For Orange and Port Macquarie, the immediate next step is the announced suspension from 25 October. Whether those links return, and how the wider regional network recovers, remain unresolved. Rex has given no firm restart date for the two routes; its stated conditions for resuming them are not a commitment that flights will return on a particular day.

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