By Emily-Rose Toohey
Flight Centre at Rose City Shoppingworld has been temporarily closed to the public since November 2020 due to Covid-19-related impacts, but the store is set to reopen late this month.
Flight Centre Warwick team leader Erin Keong, who has spent 15 years working with the company, said the store went into hibernation as opposed to being permanently closed.
“They (Flight Centre) really wanted to keep a hold of it if possible as proof that they could put employment in regional areas,” Erin said.
After the Warwick-based store’s initial shutdown in 2020, Erin kept working for Flight Centre for a further six months by travelling to Toowoomba, before pivoting to other career opportunities.
However, she said the commute was a long one each day and she was the only Warwick-based employee to do it at the time.
As of last week, in preparation for the Warwick store’s reopening, she started working at the Toowoomba store again in the interim.
“We’re hoping to open up in late September, my colleague Janelle has also started work back up at Flight Centre – we had to do some retraining and get back up to speed,” Erin said.
“In this post-Covid era, we really need to make sure that we’re experts in the complexities of travel and have been learning from the girls in Toowoomba.”
Furthermore, Erin said the team have been completely slammed.
“We’re so busy as people want to travel now,” she said.
“The hardest thing is the lack of suppliers and availability, but we do get special deals from airlines and hotels suppliers and know who’s got the product.”
Erin said this business was a combination of travellers hoping to go overseas since the ban on international travel was lifted alongside those wishing to explore Australia.
“We’ve got people who haven’t been able to see their families and friends overseas,” she said.
“But there’s a lack of staff and availability – for example, there may only be three flights a day from Brisbane to Dubai on offer.”
Nonetheless, Erin said she was excited to reconnect with their customers in Warwick, who comprise the small, country community.
“I hope they will want to come and talk to us again – it’s a very uncertain time and we’re here to help out customers,” she said.
“It’s a fun place to work and we hope that that the fun element rubs off on them as well.”
The exact reopening date is yet to be confirmed and Rose City Shoppingworld did not respond to request for comment in time for print.
