Flight Centre slashes package prices as Skroo urges Queensland to “move on”

Say a prayer for your Flight Centre colleagues today, because the travel agency has just launched a whopping Black Friday sale.

From now until 1 December, a plethora of travel deals will be up for grabs on flights, hotels, cruises, tours – the whole shebang.

Bargain seekers will find hundreds of products and packages on sale including savings of up to 45 per cent on international holidays and up to 40 per cent on cruising, touring and domestic holidays.

Savvy travellers can save hundreds of dollars are with packages such as saving a minimum of 45 per cent on a 5-night all-inclusive Fiji package from $1,199pp, or save up to $121 per person on a 7-night Bali package including 15 per cent off spa treatments and 20 per cent off food.

But it’s not all fun and games for the agency, whose CEO Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner has expressed concern over Queensland’s reopening plans and urged the state to welcome overseas visitors sooner.

Turner told Sky News that when Queensland reopens to interstate travel with NSW, Victoria and the ACT next month, short trips will still be out of the question.

Upon arrival in Queensland, travellers will need to return a negative PCR test within 72 hours.

“If you want to go to Sydney or Melbourne for a day trip or a couple of days that may not be allowed because you may well need to get your test in,” he said.

“Which is absolutely ridiculous if that’s the case because obviously if you have to spend at least three days, five days in Sydney before you come back, that’s another thing that just needs to be cleared.

“It is so obvious it is not a sensible idea.

“I think the health officials who made this will probably currently be in hot water.”

Queensland won’t allow international travel until it has vaccinated 90 per cent of its eligible population, which is expected to happen sometime in January.

“The PCR testing is one thing but getting the overseas travellers back is really important and we certainly hope the Premier will announce a set date for that 90 per cent,” he told Sky News.

“People need certainty. They need to know that things aren’t going to change again.

“Let’s move on, live with the virus, accept it’s going to be here forever and welcome overseas travellers and tourists back.”