Ansett to fly again on Government support

CANBERRA - Five Ansett planes will be flying again by the weekend after the Australian Government reached an agreement with administrators last night.

"This is not a resurrection of Ansett," Transport Minister John Anderson said. "It is rather an arrangement that will preserve the core of the airline until the administrator can work through sale arrangements with prospective purchasers."

The deal will put about 1500 Ansett staff back to work, with 24 flights operating between Sydney and Melbourne from Saturday.

Mr Anderson said the Government would guarantee tickets for 12 weeks while the airline's administrator arranged for Ansett aircraft to resume flights on trunk routes.

He said customers who bought Ansett tickets would either get a flight or be paid a refund by the Government.

Mr Anderson ruled out the Government's injecting any capital or taking any equity in Ansett.

"There is a cap of $A25 million [$30.64 million] and in fact the administrator has indemnified the Government against available assets, so the Government risk is, in every sense of the word, minimal," Mr Anderson said.

Five planes will be allowed to fly from the weekend, with a further six aircraft added in ensuing days, for a period of 12 weeks.

The minister demanded cooperation from the unions, saying they would have to be "utterly realistic" to get Ansett aircraft flying again.

The Government was under pressure to provide assistance as a court-ordered rent holiday for Ansett ended yesterday.

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