Latest news and insights from Australia’s airports

New runway sparks Sunshine Coast opportunity

Andrew Brodie is enjoying his new coastal lifestyle after moving from Brisbane to become the recently installed Chief Executive Officer of Sunshine Coast Airport. It was a big decision for Brodie to move from his role as a senior executive of a major capital city airport to run a regional airport, and one that he considered carefully. The decision was fuelled not by the lifestyle, although he finds that a big plus, ...

Read More

International debut brings Hunter region together

Newcastle Airport’s return to international travel after a 16-year hiatus has been hailed a success and talks are already underway for a repeat performance next summer. It has also lifted ambitious longer-term plans to garner support for upgrades to the runway Newcastle Airport shares with the RAAF so it can take bigger, long-range planes. The first summer season of Virgin Australia flights between Newcastle and Auckland ended after 13 weeks on 17 ...

Read More

Communication the key for ‘extraordinary times’ in Townsville

You could still hear a tinge of disbelief in the voice of Townsville Airport chief operating officer Kevin Gill as he spoke over the phone. “These are pretty extraordinary times to be honest, ‘’ he told The Airport Professional. “In aviation, we’ve all seen natural events and disasters and managed those but, yeah, we were one of the flooded, our family, and it’s different when you’ve gone through it and when you ...

Read More

Runway extension sees Bendigo take flight

A runway extension project that has taken two decades has paid off handsomely for Bendigo and the city’s leaders are determined the dividends will keep coming. The picturesque and historic Australian gold mining town will get its first regular commercial air service in 30 years when QantasLink starts flying there from Sydney in 2019. The six days per week route will be the central Victorian city’s first direct link with Sydney and ...

Read More

Understanding local demand key to regional growth

Regional airports looking to grow their passenger base need to be realistic about their expectations and find the low-hanging fruit when it comes to route development. That was some of the advice to regional airports to flow from a panel of experts at November's Australian Airports Association national conference in Brisbane. “Everybody thinks route development is about going after a new route, getting a new airline in,’’ Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting managing ...

Read More

Challenges remain for regional airports

Earlier this year, the AAA welcomed the extension of the Remote Access Upgrade Programme for remote airports in the 2018-19 Federal budget. However, we noted at the time that there were many regional airports missing out on vital funding – and for those airports times are tough. Regional airports not classified as remote have no dedicated funding source for upgrades or essential maintenance, despite the fact that many of them are ...

Read More

Newcastle international flights to provide boost for the Hunter

It’s been a long road for Newcastle Airport but chief executive Peter Cock sees the long-waited return of overseas flights as a big plus for both his operation and the Greater Hunter Region as a whole. A deal with Virgin Australia to offer peak summer services will see Newcastle-Auckland flights return after a 16-year hiatus and means the airport can again add “International” to its name. The airline will use a ...

Read More