Australian regional Rex Airlines has been put into voluntary administration with the loss of 2,000 jobs

Several plans were afoot to try and save the airline, but by the middle of the week it was apparent that it had simply run out of money as the airline was losing around $1m per week.

Most of the workforce won’t be paid or get redundancy money for the foreseeable future. The news apparently came as a surprise to many of them, who suddenly found that hotel bookings had been cancelled or their corporate taxi account would no longer work.

READ: What Happened to REX? (External link)  

Bloomberg has reported that Ernest and Young have been appointed as administrators. Trading in the airline’s shares on the Australian Stock Exchange has been suspended.

Passenger flights in the short term have been transferred to Virgin Australia.

READ: Australia’s Rex demonstrates increased profitability

Founded in 2002, the airline is a primary user of the Saab 340 turboprop. Its  service is widely regarded as essential connectivity for remote communities across the vast landmass.

Rex, also known as Regional Express, was formed in 2002 shortly after the collapse of another regional airline called Ansett. Two passenger airlines, Hazelton and Kendell, which had been operating as separate businesses under the failed airline merged to eventually become Australia’s biggest regional carrier.

Transport Minister Catherine King had previously said that the Australian government values the ‘importance of regional aviation’ and will ‘work with the airline’ to secure a future.

The news comes less than three months after the collapse of rival regional airline Bonza which lasted only around 15 months.