In a musical showstopper, Virgin Australia's ground staff have bid farewell to the final scheduled international service as the airline halts operations today.
Through the words of pop power balladeers Journey, ground crew at Brisbane International Airport sang "Don't stop believin'" as flight VA153 to Auckland set off for the last time.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic Virgin Australia has grounded all international flights as of today until at least June 14.
To mark the final flight, for now, Virgin Australia crew filmed themselves performing a choreographed dance of waves and aeroplane wings on the tarmac and quiet departure halls of the Australian airport.
This musical farewell for flight VA153 came about after the less choreographed video of "Nutbush City limits" emerged online, showing staff of Australian airlines, Virgin, Rex and Qantas performing in a flash mob at Sydney International Airport.
"At a time when you unity is needed the most, what better way than to share and lift each other's spirit by the 'NUTBUSH'," was the message of Virgin steward George Ivanoff, who recorded the dance.
The Australian airline worker said the video showed the unity of the which was "much needed during these times," responding to an almost three month suspension of flights.
Last week it was announced the airline would be closing its New Zealand crew base. The recording of a tearful announcement by a Virgin crew member on a Dunedin service took off on social media after she thanked passengers, telling them it would be her last flight for the foreseeable future.
The airline has around 200 pilots and 300 New Zealand-based cabin crew which operate the airline's trans-Tasman routes. Redundancies have yet to be announced, but they are being discussed with airline unions.
"We have responded by making tough decisions which include reducing our domestic capacity and phasing in the temporary suspension of international flying for a period of two and a half months," was Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah's message, in a statement on the airline's response to the Covid 19 pandemic.
"The Group is undertaking a range of measures to address the current situation including the use of accrued annual leave, leave without pay, redeployment and, in some circumstances, redundancies."
"Don't stop believing" is the hopeful message from an airline to its staff and passengers, who hope to return to the skies soon.
• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website
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