Last week Darwin was boosted by the return of budget airline Tigerair Australia to the Top End.
Tigerair pulled out of the city nearly three years ago due to lack of demand but is coming back in April next year with a Darwin to Brisbane service.
But yesterday Jetstar announced a major reorganisation of its Northern Territory operations that will result in three Darwin-based A320 aircraft being moved to Adelaide, where Jetstar will set up a new base.
Jetstar’s Darwin to Manila and Tokyo route will be axed as part of the restructure.
Several routes will be trimmed in frequency – including Darwin to Denpasar, Darwin to Singapore and Darwin to Brisbane.
However flights between Darwin to Cairns will increase from three a week to daily.
A Jetstar spokesman said increased competition in Darwin from international carriers had led to the cuts.
The changes will come into effect from March 31, 2014.
Last week Qantas – which owns Jetstar – announced it is planning to cut 1000 jobs as it tries to find $2 billion in savings over the next three years.
