A number of Australia’s private helicopter charters have been placed in voluntary administration, following Speaker Bronwyn Bishop’s resignation yesterday.

Company heads held crisis talks around the country, with many concerned they may not be able to see out the year.

“We used to do the run from Parliament House to Mrs Bishop’s Canberra apartment. She pretty much kept this company going,” a shaken Tom Greig, who runs a luxury helicopter operator, said today.

Jeremy Wiltshire, who owns a charter outfit in Melbourne, said he would need to fundamentally rethink his business model now. “No-one else is going to charter a helicopter from Essendon to Geelong. This changes everything”.

Many, like Sydney operator Ken Low, said they held fond memories of the former Speaker. “I remember once flying Mrs Bishop from the CBD to Paramatta. That paid for the kids to go to private school. Yeah, I’ll miss her”.

Mrs Bishop had agreed to be a guest speaker at a fundraising event for the helicopter industry next week, but then remembered she had no means of getting there.

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