Mildura Airport talking with new airlines, destinations after Virgin Australia exit
Mildura Airport is in discussions with two new airlines that could connect Sunraysia with new destinations. And a deal on one of the routes could be reached soon.
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Mildura Airport hopes it can finalise a deal with a new carrier, to take passengers to a new market not currently serviced by the airport, “within another month or so”.
Victoria’s second-busiest passenger airport has been hit hard by the coronavirus and its impact on travel, with monthly passenger numbers down 96 per cent compared with last year.
Mildura Airport chief executive Trevor Willcock said the airport had used the turbulent year to talk with potential new carriers.
He said there were active talks with two airlines that didn’t currently fly to Mildura, about destinations that also aren’t already linked to Mildura.
“These would be two new routes we’re not currently servicing,” Mr Willcock said.
“One is pretty far along the track, the other one we just started the discussions.”
The airlines and destinations involved couldn’t be named while talks played out, but it was hoped the more advanced of the two discussions could be wrapped up soon.
“I’m hoping within another month or so,” Mr Willcock said.
“It will be a really important one … I’m just hoping it comes together.”
Qantas and Rex both fly the Melbourne to Mildura route.
Rex also has an Adelaide service, while the launch of a new Qantas service to Sydney put on hold by the pandemic will be back in the frame after border restrictions are eased.
Mr Willcock said he hoped the Sydney flights could start later this year.
Virgin Australia, which stopped its daily Melbourne-Mildura service at the start of the pandemic, earlier this month announced it would withdraw from its Mildura flights “for the foreseeable future”.
“We will continue to review our network as travel restrictions ease and demand returns,” a Virgin Australia spokesperson said.
Mr Willcock said with two carriers continuing to service the Melbourne route, there would still be competition on prices.
He believed Virgin would look to return to Mildura in the medium to long term, once their restructure has been implemented.
Mr Willcock said because domestic travel is likely to recover ahead of international, the airport was hopeful of getting back to half of pre-coronavirus passenger levels in the first half of next year.
The Federal Government on Monday announced an extension to a scheme that supports regional routes continuing through the pandemic.
Subsidies from the government to the airlines that run these routes will now continue until the end of March next year.
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