Whitsunday airport to add flights to Gold Coast

Escaping to the Great Barrier Reef for some tranquillity or getting your adrenaline fix at the theme parks is about to get a whole lot easier with new flight paths on the horizon. DETAILS

The Whitsunday Coast airport could soon welcome direct flights from the Gold Coast. Picture: Contributed.

Escaping to the Great Barrier Reef for some tranquillity or alternatively getting your adrenaline fix at the theme parks is about to get a whole lot easier with new flights on the horizon.

The Whitsunday Coast Airport has announced direct flights between the Gold Coast and the Whitsundays were in the last stages of negotiation.

The airport, which recently brought Bonza on board, currently provides direct flights to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Newcastle and Toowoomba.

WCA chief executive Craig Turner said reaching the Gold Coast on direct flight paths would provide connectivity to the Gold Coast population as well as the “millions” of tourists who transit through the area for their holidays.

“This will be a huge breakthrough for our region,” he said.

The Gold Coast to Tweed Heads area has a catchment of about 730,000 people, but this extends to 1.2 million people if casting a wider net to include Logan in the north and NSW’s Ballina in the south.

Whitsunday Coast Airport could soon welcome a direct flight path to the Gold Coast. Picture: Contributed

Whitsunday Coast Airport recently reached a record number of 477,328 passengers in the 2022-23 financial year, more than 8000 additional passengers compared to the year before.

But this possible new Whitsundays to Gold Coast connection follows recent pullbacks to regional flight frequency as new airline Bonza announced on July 13 it had cancelled its Mackay to Cairns route while it reassessed how to gain a foothold in the competitive airline market.

A Whitsunday Regional Council spokesman said to keep pace with growth, the council has engaged an expert to conduct a comprehensive review and redesign of the Whitsunday Coast Airport Master Plan.

“We are looking to determine if the infrastructure solutions proposed in the 2015 plan remain relevant or require reconsideration,” he said.

“An important part of this process is developing a clear understanding of the aviation related needs of the broader Whitsunday community.”

A six-week consultation period kicks off on Monday, July 24 via the council’s Your Say page for the Whitsunday community to share their ideas, concerns or suggestions.