Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith) and Perth International Airport have reached a confidential, "mutually beneficial" agreement ending their recent dispute about non-payment of fees and leases by the airline.
The two companies said in a joint statement that the "agreement ensures Perth Airport and Qantas will be able to continue to support vital Fly-In-Fly-Out (FIFO) flights, freight services into and out of Western Australia, and repatriation flights to bring Australians home".
The parties did not disclose full details of the settlement but underlined that Qantas had received a "partial abatement of payments" due to the ongoing crisis in the industry. Following the agreement, the operator of the Western Australian gateway withdrew all lease termination notices previously served to Qantas.
"In addition, both parties have agreed to a revised timeline for finalising the sale of [domestic] Terminal 4 from Qantas, with both parties committing to providing their submissions to an independent expert by no later than 30 June 2020 for a determination on fair market value of this asset," the companies said.
On May 7, the airport operator issue lease termination notices concerning all 39 Qantas leases at Perth airport following the alleged airline decision to "unilaterally give itself a 100% rent waiver, with no negotiation". The airport alleged that Qantas had not paid any fees since February 1, 2020, including charges collected from passengers but not passed to the airport. The airport operator underlined from the onset that it had no intention of impacting the continuity of FIFO flights.
