Coffs Harbour Airport privatised as long-term lease officially begins
It’s official - Coffs Airport has been privatised. The lease which began on Tuesday has the potential to be in place for nearly a century.
Coffs Harbour
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Coffs Harbour Airport has officially been privatised, with operations now transferred to Palisade Investment Partners under a long-term lease.
The lease, which began on Tuesday (June 1) after a lengthy transition period, has the potential to be in place for nearly a century with Palisade signing on for 50 years with a 49-year extension option.
It includes the development and operations of the Airport Enterprise Park, a $26m, 23-hectare commercial, industrial and logistics precinct adjacent to the airport which is under construction.
Incoming General Manager Frank Mondello has taken on the reins after leaving the ranks of the management team at Sunshine Coast Airport.
He’s led a number of significant projects including the Sunshine Coast Airport Expansion Project, which brought a new internationally capable $344m runway into operation last year.
Mr Mondello joins Coffs Harbour as part of Palisade’s newly established management group dubbed Agilis Airports, which has been formed to oversee the operations of both the Sunshine Coast and Coffs assets.
Coffs Airport and the Enterprise Park is also now being overseen by a board chaired by aviation industry stalwart Dennis Chant, who was formerly the CEO of Queensland Airports Limited.
Mr Mondello said the region had an “exciting” future and the assets played a crucial role in helping reach its potential.
“Over the last few months, we have been working closely with the existing Coffs Harbour Airport team and the Coffs Harbour City Council to add more destinations, airlines and frequencies and to ensure a smooth transition of airport operations,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to working closely with the tourism industry, local businesses and the broader community to ensure we make the most of the opportunities for the airport to deliver benefits to the region.”
Palisade Investment Partners’ Investment Director Mike Reynolds said Coffs Harbour was set to benefit from a significant pipeline of investment, such as the $1.8 billion bypass project and the $194 million Coffs Harbour Hospital Campus Expansion.
“The Coffs Coast region is one of the fastest growing regional areas within NSW and the airport presents an exciting opportunity not only for the Coffs community, but also for Palisade investors,” Mr Reynolds said.
“We look forward to working with Coffs Harbour City Council and the broader region to grow the airport through aviation capacity and diversifying revenue with the development of the Airport Enterprise Park.”
After years of confidential discussions with Council it was announced in December that Australian investment firm Palisade, headed up by CEO Roger Lloyd, had secured the lease of the airport.
Coffs airport marks its fifth aviation asset with Palisade having signed a 99-year lease of Sunshine Coast Airport in 2017. It also has ownership in the Airport Development Group, which manages Darwin, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek airports under a 99-year lease.
The long-term lease will see Council share revenue from both the airport and Enterprise Park operations. It includes an upfront payment to council of $25m, and additional payments totalling $56.5m over seven years in a deal that was controversially touted to be worth $500m to the Coffs community.
Influx of new flights at Coffs Airport ahead of “exciting” future
Competition has well and truly heated up at Coffs Harbour Airport, with an influx of new services and routes introduced in recent months as Palisade began the transition.
Coffs Harbour now has a direct service to Melbourne, which Qantas launched in April. Weeks later, Qantas also launched its new direct Brisbane service.
Regional airline Link Airways – which had been the sole airline along the Coffs Harbour to Brisbane route since 2016 – has now upped the ante weeks after Qantas moved to gain a foothold on the route, increasing its flight frequency to 12 weekly services over the weekend and offering new deal fares.
Rex Airways also entered the fray in March, launching direct services to Sydney.
Gareth Williamson, General Manager of Aviation Business Development for Agilis Airports, told The Advocate last month that Rex Airlines was helping to fill the void left by Virgin, which withdrew from the region in April due to the impacts on COVID-19.
“It was disappointing that Virgin did suspend its services, but we’re confident we’ll be able to welcome them back in the region at another point in time,” Mr Williamson said.
Speaking on the “exciting” plans in the pipeline for the airport, he revealed the airport had strengthened its partnership with Qantas with an aim to establish a whole network between Coffs and capital cities in a way that had never been done before.
“They see the potential to bring high value tourism, as well as to open up more connections for those travelling for business or to see family – all those reasons why domestic travel has bounced back from COVID-19 really well,” he said.
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