Work on Shellharbour Airport’s new passenger terminal underway
Shellharbour Airport’s new passenger terminal will be completely overhauled with work on the new building already underway. Check out what it will mean for parking.
Illawarra Star
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Major upgrades and additions to Shellharbour Airport are officially underway, with a new passenger terminal set to bring more customers to the Illawarra’s only airport.
Shellharbour Mayor Marianne Saliba and Kiama state Liberal MP Gareth Ward broke ground on the almost $20 million project today, which is set to include upgrades to short- and long-term carparks and the runway.
Construction of the passenger terminal is now underway, with works to the airfield pavements planned to start early in the 2020/2021 financial year.
The airport project is part of Shellharbour Council’s business plan to grow the airport and foster opportunities for economic development and jobs growth, especially with the construction of the new marina.
“Providing world-class facilities that the travelling public expect is of great importance to the future of our region,” Shellharbour Mayor Marianne Saliba said.
“There is great potential for growth in this area and I look forward to welcoming new aviation businesses to our airport.”
Cr Saliba said the importance of the upgrades extended beyond the needs generated by regular passenger transport, saying it would benefit the entire region, including Shellharbour residents and the wider Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands communities.
“It’s wonderful that we have a reliable commercial service provider in Fly Corporate, which links our airport to Melbourne (via Essendon) and Brisbane,” she said.
“This boosts our local economy with increased visitors numbers, as well as offering local residents the convenience of not having to travel to Sydney for air services.”
Fly Corporate’s airline network manager Geoff Boyd said the upgrades to the passenger terminal were expected to have a big impact on business, following a difficult 12 months since the airline took over from JetGo at Shellharbour.
“It’s been a hard 12 months because we had to regrow the service from where it was left off by the previous operator,” he said.
“But we are confident for a good year ahead, it’s all about knowing the service exists, the coast is a big area so the fact there’s a new terminal on the way focuses attention on the fact we fly from here to Melbourne or Brisbane.”