Future Cairns: Airport CEO Richard Barker reveals new targets for region
Smaller, fuel efficient, narrow-bodied aircraft could soon be touching down in new Asian cities in a “game changing” development for Cairns Airport. This is what’s on the radar.
Cairns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News.
NEW Asian cities made viable through smaller, fuel efficient, narrow-bodied aircraft soon within reach of Cairns have been heralded as a game changer for the region, but Cairns Airport has remained selective about destinations.
Given an A380 burns 10,000 litres of fuel every hour carrying 390 passengers, a new breed of energy-efficient planes such as the A350 burn half the fuel but can maintain an equal range of 15,000km.
And smaller planes such as the A321 XLR with a range of 8700km and passenger capacity of 180 are considered the way forward for a city the size of Cairns.
At the Future Cairns event on Tuesday, Cairns Airport chief executive Richard Barker said growth on the horizon was governed by demand and the ability of airlines to fill seats.
“What it means is that you can start to target cities that wouldn’t normally have enough volume of people to fill up a plane with 350 passengers two or three times a week,” he said.
“So all of a sudden second tier cities, still substantive in all through Asia (and) you can reach the east coast of India.
“And most of the key cities that we may want to have a relationship with in tourism are now within reach of a narrow bodied plane.
“So I think the secret for us to stay connected globally using hubs like Singapore.”
Mr Barker said 30 per cent of the world’s population live within an eight-hour flight of Cairns within a narrow body flight.
New generation aircraft are expected to start touching down in Cairns next year.
Asked to reveal the golden goose that’s currently just beyond the reach of the Cairns Airport Mr Barker declined to reveal what was in the works but did say “we are very close to getting it.”
He confirmed there was no ambition to add a second runway for the remainder of the century, calculated investment in an upgrade of the Cairns Airport international terminal, plans for general aviation, aviation decarburisation and completion this December of the regional trade distribution centre all featured in Mr Barker’s presentation to the Future Cairns crowd.
“That terminal is easily big enough to put through to put through 10-12 million passengers but we have never had more than one million,” he said.
“It’s about being pragmatic about money we spend. The capital plan 10-years ago had seven air bridges but we have never had seven planes all at once.
“We’re well on our way to updating that and that’s one of the many steps that we’re taking to prepare for the future.”
Mr Barker committed to aviation-related business within the general aviation footprint and his slides outlined a yet to be developed eastern aviation precinct to include private aviation and tourism operations alongside an emergency services base.
“We have a lot of land to develop and we plan to do that,” he said.
More Coverage
Originally published as Future Cairns: Airport CEO Richard Barker reveals new targets for region
Person rushed to hospital following Tablelands car crash
A regional road has reopened to traffic and a person has been taken to hospital following a two-vehicle crash in the Tablelands on Tuesday morning.
Far North’s ‘voices’ to parliament reveal their efforts one year on
The Far North’s three elected parliamentarians reveal what efforts they’ve made in the space of Indigenous affairs, one year after the failed referendum.