The aviation sector will need targeted assistance as part of its ongoing recovery from the pandemic, a parliamentary committee has recommended.
The report - released following an inquiry into the future of Australia's aviation industry in the context of COVID-19 - found the pandemic magnified longstanding issues in the sector, including workforce retention and skills shortages.
The committee heard the impacts of privatisation and the weaknesses of the aviation sector have been exposed over the past two years.
Airlines made drastic cuts to staffing, while worker skills and accreditation lapsed and many left the industry as a result of the pandemic, the committee heard.
In January this year around 65,000 people were employed in the sector compared to more than 90,000 before the pandemic.
This is despite the federal government providing more than $5.3 billion in assistance measures for the industry during the shutdowns caused by COVID-19.
Support measures must continue to ensure the industry can recover fully, the report says.
The report recommends the industry, professional associations and trade unions be consulted closely in the design and delivery of future support.
It also says companies who receive government bailouts must have obligations to prioritise job security for their workers.
But the committee's deputy chairwoman and coalition Senator Susan McDonald said the inquiry had missed an opportunity to properly examine the genuine issues facing the industry.
In a dissenting report she said the inquiry had been used as an excuse to prosecute industrial relations disputes between workers and one airline in particular, Qantas.
The committee agreed that while demand for travel has increased, the emergence of new COVID-19 variants remains a risk when it comes to possible future travel restrictions.
On Thursday, 26 people in Australia died with the virus, with more than 52,000 new cases recorded across the country.
More than a third of those cases were in NSW, where 20,087 new infections were reported.
There were 9752 new cases in Victoria, 1859 in Tasmania, 1311 in the ACT, 7190 in Queensland.
South Australia registered 4474 new infections, while there were 241 in the NT and 7151 in Western Australia.
