Sunshine Coast residents could soon be taking off to the Apple Isle and Newcastle as the airport expands its domestic routes.
With overseas travel all but extinct during COVD, Sunshine Coast Airport has revealed its top five domestic destinations for future flights within Australia.
The airport is jetting ahead with expansion plans and lobbying airlines to launch popular Queensland and interstate routes from Mudjimba.
Sunshine Coast Airport spokesperson Ayllie White said overseas routes had been shelved because of COVID and the focus would be on exploring Australia.
Ms White said Tasmania, with its stunning natural landscapes and picturesque cities, was one of the top interstate travel destinations that the Sunshine Coast Airport was lobbying airlines to introduce.
Rather than driving to Brisbane, Coast people would have a direct access to explore Tasmania’s destinations like Cradle Mountain (pictured above) and historic Port Arthur.
The harbour city of Newcastle, in NSW, the gateway to the Hunter Valley, was another regional locale over the border that had been earmarked, she told sunshinecoastnews.com.au.
Within Queensland, Ms White said the mining town of Mackay in far north Queensland was a leading candidate because of existing demand from Sunshine Coast FIFO workers.
Other possibilities were Townsville in far north Queensland and the beef capital of Rockhampton in central Queensland, she said.
The domestic expansion follows the recent launch of the Coast’s first-ever flights to Cairns and Canberra which the airport said had proven popular, especially in school holidays.
“Late last year the airport did some research into the unmet markets for travel into and from the Sunshine Coast which found strong demand for Cairns, Canberra, Mackay, Townsville and Newcastle, as well as more frequency on Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide,” Ms White said.
“This research has helped us develop a business case to encourage airlines to consider serving those routes.”
Over the next 12 to 18 months, Ms White said reviving direct flights from the Coast to New Zealand would be another focus, but that hinged on a trans-Tasman “travel bubble”.
Air New Zealand has been flying direct to Auckland over recent winters but Ms Whyte said it was hoped to eventually have travel all year round.
This year’s New Zealand flying season was going to be extended by 10 weeks until COVID hit.
Ms White said it was also crucial to revive the Sydney and Melbourne routes which had been shutdown due to COVID border closures, she said.
The three-times-weekly Alliance Airlines Cairns flight (starting at $125 each way) was launched in June and opened a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef with the potential to bring overseas visitors to the Coast.
The Alliance Airlines Canberra route launched in October (starting at $169 each way) links Coast people with business and travel in the nation’s capital.
It was followed up a new three-times-weekly Qantas flight to Canberra which launched November 19.
“Demand for both services have been impressive and bookings continue to grow strongly,” said Ms White.
“Some Cairns flights over the September school holidays were close to capacity, and the airline has been very pleased with the initial response to the Canberra service, with a fantastic initial response.”
Ms White the decision to establish new routes from the Coast was entirely up to individual airlines which were currently struggling because of COVID.
“The airlines choose their destinations; we make a business case to them on destinations or potential markets,” Ms White said.
“We have been in discussions with airlines on intrastate flying which are likely to be Mackay, Rockhampton and Townsville some time in the future.
“For interstate, we are looking at connections to Newcastle and Tasmania because our research shows there is demand there.”
Cr Jason O’Pray, who holds the tourism portfolio, said the Sunshine Coast was faring “better than most places in Australia” because of a surge in domestic tourism.
While most travellers were coming by car, future growth would be in the skies, especially after COVID.
Cr O’Pray said flights to Mackay would be a “red hot” favourite for selection as one of the first new destinations due to the significant population of FIFO workers on the Coast.
“Mackay is a great tourism destination, but FIFO workers are crying out for flights from the Sunshine Coast to Mackay,” he said.
“I know many people who are car-pooling with as many as 40 people to Brisbane to catch flights to Mackay and when they get on the plane they are full of people from the Sunshine Coast.”
Cr O’Pray said Townsville would be the next best location rather than Rockhampton which was already fairly accessible by road.
