Virgin Australia and partner airline Qatar Airways are exploring options to help the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to assist Australians seeking to safely leave Israel.
A leaked company memo from Virgin head of government relations Christian Bennett confirmed transport minister Catherine King had telephoned chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka on Wednesday to explore how the airline may help with the evacuations.
“We’ll continue to engage with Canberra as to whether there is a wish to activate either option,” Mr Bennett wrote. Virgin Australia declined to provide a formal update on its role in the repatriation flights but confirmed to SkyNews.com.au that the leaked memo was genuine. “We are also supporting more than 1,500 registered Australians. Many have registered for information only and not all wish to leave.
“The flights from Ben Gurion Airport to London will start Friday for Australians who don't already have plans to leave through commercial options. The two flights to London will be operated by Qantas," the department said in a statement.
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