Australia's major airlines are set to experience a significant decline in passenger numbers because of the Queensland floods, The Australian Financial Review says.

Qantas Airways Ltd and Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd draw a significant portion of sales from the Queensland leisure market. The paper said the floods have only aggravated already very soft market conditions.

Although it is too early to measure how much the crisis would hurt the carriers' revenues, looking at bookings at the end of the holiday season would provide a better indication, a JPMorgan analyst has told the paper.

Qantas and Virgin Blue plan to operate scheduled services to Brisbane today even as the nation's third- largest city faces its worst floods since 1893. Both, however, are waiving fees for passengers changing bookings, according to their websites.

According to Qantas, flights to the Queensland state capital are less full than usual as some passengers have canceled trips.

Virgin Blue yesterday evacuated its Brisbane headquarters. The flooding has also forced the airport in Rockhampton, about 500 kilometers north of the city, to close.