Australia extends airline relief package

Relief package: People are silhouetted against a window overlooking aircraft at Melbourne Airport. The federal government will continue underwriting domestic flights until Jan 31,2021, and flights to regional locations until March 28. — Bloomberg

SYDNEY: The Australian government said it will extend a Covid-19 relief package for domestic airlines by four months in its annual budget, as one economics forecaster predicted the country would record a A$198.5bil (US$140bil) deficit.

The federal government would continue underwriting domestic flights until Jan 31,2021, and flights to regional locations until March 28 when it delivered its annual budget on Oct 6, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said in a statement.