FOLLOWING the delay of a morning flight to Adelaide, Mount Gambier/Berrin resident Chrissy Salena will now wait weeks until her next specialist appointment.

Ms Salena was one of many who expressed frustration at the sudden delay and cancellation of a REX Airlines flight to Adelaide earlier this week as she attempted to travel to the city for medical reasons.

Speaking with The Border Watch, Ms Salena said she received a text to inform her the flight would be delayed.

“I thought that was okay because my specialist appointment was at about 1.30pm so I thought I would still make it,” she said.

Ms Salena said at 8am on the morning of her flight, she received another text message to say it was further delayed until about 1pm that afternoon.

“Obviously I cannot attend my appointment if I am in mid-flight and I could not stretch it out because I had a flight booked to fly home at 3.40pm,” she said.

“I work fulltime, I have got young kids as well so I can only squeeze through during those school hours.”

She said as a result of the delay she then had to cancel both flights which was a “major inconvenience”.

“It was no cost for me because it is under WorkCover but it is still a major inconvenience because I had to take time off work and reschedule because I could not see the specialist in person,” Ms Salena said.

“Now the appointment has had to be rescheduled and he is away for a month so I cannot see him until April but next time I will just drive up because I cannot rely on our local airline.”

She said moving forward she would like to have a more reliable airline to allow for regional patients to access critical care.

“If I did extend my appointment to a later time how would I know for certain if I was going to be home by five o’clock or even the latest flight gets in about eight at night but there is no certainty and how would I know if they were not going to get delayed and I would be stuck in Adelaide,” she said.

“Next time with my new appointment in early April I will just drive myself instead.”

Ms Salena said other issues the current airline caused was a lack of specialists and medical professionals travelling to Mount Gambier/Berrin.

“It impacts our town quite a lot,” she said.

“I have got a medically ill son who I regularly have to drive to Adelaide who needs an ophthalmologist, who needs a hematologist, an oncologist, he needs magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and none of that is available down here so we are forever travelling to and from Adelaide anyway.

“For my son, his medical needs cannot get met here, so we do not have anyone that comes here to do what he requires either.”

She said it was frustrating as well as disappointing and she believed the regions across the state were beginning to get left behind.

“If we had more reliable airlines that would help us access better services,” she said.

Ms Salena said while the QantasLink Q400 plane recently landed at the Mount Gambier Regional Airport would provide more seats to Adelaide the cost and times of the flights also needed to be considered.

“If it is going to cost someone $400 one way on a new plane that is really unrealistic for a lot of people down here for the average person” she said.

“I have been using REX for nearly two years to go up and back to our specialists appointments and all my flights I take the second morning one which is mid-morning and then I usually take the mid-afternoon or the last flight of the day.”

She said there had been a few times where she had a flight delayed or cancelled resulting in being stuck in Adelaide until the last flight of the night.

Ms Salena said there were other issues as a result of unreliable flights including giving general practitioners the opportunity to travel to the region.

“It is the same predicament, if I am not going to be home by this time, there is no certainty that I am actually going to make that flight,” she said.

Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell also commented on the effects an unreliable air service had for regional communities.

In Parliament this week, Mr Bell welcomed the new QantasLink Q400 but also noted the timing of services needed to be taken into account for future flights.

“Many people, in particular those travelling for business or medical appointments, often need to be in Adelaide by 9am and return home the same day,” Mr Bell said.

“ Currently, Mount Gambier is serviced by REX Airlines, which operates flights two or three times a day to both Adelaide and Melbourne, and Qantas, which offers just three flights a week to Adelaide.

“This level of service is not enough for South Australia’s second-largest city.”

Mr Bell said the region needed two airlines offering daily flights to Adelaide and Melbourne to “create competition” while also driving down costs and ensuring high-quality service.

“It is also crucial to hold airlines accountable for providing affordable and reliable travel options for regional residents,” Mr Bell said.

“I checked flights from Adelaide to Melbourne…I had three airlines to choose from, all offering morning departures and evening returns with fares ranging from $300 to $350.

“In contrast, the one and only available option from Mount Gambier to Adelaide was around $600, almost double the cost.”

Mr Bell said these prices were not viable for many residents leading to a decrease in passenger numbers and thus a decrease in services.

“Reliable, affordable air travel is not a luxury, it is a necessity for regional South Australia,” he said.

“Mount Gambier residents should not have to choose between paying exorbitant fares or enduring a 10-hour round trip by car just to access essential services, business opportunities or visit loved ones.”