Qantas executives, including then-executive manager of Qantas airports, Colin Hughes, met with lawyers from Herbert Smith Freehills and an industrial relations expert in early June 2020 to discuss the decision to terminate the ground handling staff.
The free bookings, which were announced as Rex went into administration on 31 July, are enough to fill around 715 737-800s at full capacity, with 30,000 of the rebooked flights having already been taken.
The deal was announced at the 34th AUSMIN summit in Maryland and will specifically see RAAF Base Learmonth added to the bases utilised.