Air Whitsunday to return to Whitehaven with new owners, expanded facilities

A iconic seaplane tour service which shut down earlier this year will be returning with new owners promising a bigger and better experience.

Whitsunday Airport Group owner Ross Armstrong has taken over Air Whitsunday and hopes to restore its former glory.

A tour company which let you see the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsundays from the air will soon reopen following the construction of new hangers and the acquisition of a new fleet.

Air Whitsunday, a seaplane tour service which takes tourists on three hour trips to Hardy reef before landing on Whitehaven beach for lunch, was first founded in 1973.

Pioneers of seaplane services to the islands, they started with just one Lake Buccaneer light amphibian aircraft and have since expanded to a fleet of six seaplanes.

The owners of the Whitsunday Airport, Ross and Diane Armstrong have now turned their attention to Air Whitsunday.

Whitsunday Airport Group owner Ross Armstrong said a change of ownership in the early 2000s by a Cairns based company began a slow decline in the enterprise.

Mr Armstrong hopes to return Air Whitsunday to its former glory after the business shut in 2023.

The former operator specialised in boat tours to the reef and Whitsunday Air was the first aviation tour service they’d run.

Mr Armstrong said a lack of investment to the fleet of seaplanes and the businesses relocation to Proserpine airport eventually led to a cessation of operations.

Mr Armstrong's Whitsunday Airport Group announced the acquisition to the Air Whitsunday Seaplanes Facebook page on January 5, 2024.

“The Whitsunday Airport Group is so excited to continue Air Whitsunday original legacy,” they wrote.

“However for now, Air Whitsunday will be temporarily closed while we restore and rebuild its amazing products.”

Mr Armstrong said currently their focus was on rebuilding their fleet, as lack of investment left the business with no serviceable aircraft.

“Operations will not recommence until we have a reliable fleet of state of the art modern/multiple aircraft,” Mr Armstrong said.

The three new hangers will be used for the housing, servicing, refuelling, maintaining or repairing of aircraft.

The next phase in the Whitsunday Airport Groups rebuilding of Air Whitsunday came on August 14 when they were approved to start construction of three new hangers at the Whitsunday Airport in Airlie Beach.

These three new buildings will be their main staging area for tours where passengers will board and disembark seaplanes, as well as act as training facilities for new staff.

“This is not an easily achieved vision,” Mr Armstrong said.

“Not only are modern aircraft now extremely expensive they are also very difficult to procure.”

While Air Whitsunday rebuilds its fleet under new stewardship, Mr Armstrong urges people to “watch this space” as they hope to reopen in 2025, but no definite date has been set as of writing.