Cathay Cargo announced it would end its agreement with Wellcamp Airport

A major international freight carrier has revealed it will no longer fly goods out of Wellcamp Airport – exactly a year after a prominent passenger airline folded its operations.

Cathay Cargo has announced it will end its agreement with Wellcamp Airport. (Photo: Garry Wilkinson)

Cathay Cargo has suspended its operations out of Wellcamp Airport, in a blow to both the regional and Darling Downs primary producers.

The international carrier was one the first major airlines to sign an agreement with Wellcamp in 2016.

In 2021 it opened the Wellcamp Regional Trade Distribution Centre, a massive freight hub that was billed as a boon for Queensland growers looking to export food and fibre into Asian markets.

The carrier’s weekly freight flights are set to stop in mid-June.

While the bulk services will end, Cathay Cargo will continue to offer charter flights.

Wellcamp Airport is owned by Wagner Corp and its chairman, John Wagner, laid the blame for Cathay’s decision on regulatory changes made under the current Federal Government.

“The Federal Government under Labor changed the rules as far as international airlines having a limited number of flights into the capital cities,” he said

“That was the driver for carriers like Cathay to send freight flights to regional airports, that way they could have more passenger planes to the capital cities.

“As a result of that change Cathay thought it was best to consolidate its operation into Brisbane instead of using Avalon, Canberra and Wellcamp.”

Federal Transport and Regional Development Minister Catherine King was contacted for comment.

Via a spokeswoman she said the decision was commercial on the part of Cathay Cargo.

“The Albanese LAbor Government has signed a record number of bilateral air service agreements, boosting competition and putting downward pressure on airlines,” she said.

“This includes increasing capacity with Hong Kong, to boost trade and tourism and support the Australian economy.”

Darling Downs produce is loaded onto a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300 bound for Hong Kong at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, Sunday, June 14, 2020. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Meanwhile, Mr Wagner said he was confident Cathay Cargo would resume regional flights if the regulatory change was reversed, their partnership had been in place for a decade.

“This highlights that the Federal Labor Party has no recognition of regional Australia,” he said.

“While it is very disappointing, we still have a great relationship with Cathay and they have been excellent to deal with,” he said.

“We are still working with them on ad hoc charter flights.

“What it has done is highlight that Wellcamp is a fantastic destination for international freight.

“We are very confident that we can replace and increase freight flights into and out of Wellcamp.”

Aside from Cathay Cargo, the other operators using Wellcamp include SilkAir and Lynden Air Cargo, with an average of 7-10 freight flights each week.

Cathay Cargo’ regional head of cargo Nigel Chynoweth said the decision was primarily motivated by commercial concerns, as the business sought to streamline its operations ahead of replacing its fleet of Boeing aircraft with Airbus A350s.

“It was a natural move for us to go to Brisbane instead,” he said.

“The Wellcamp route has been operating very successfully, but some of these decisions we have had to make to ensure we are operating as efficiently as possible.

“It is a very volatile industry in which the market moves quite quickly.”

“At every step of the way we are assessing how we operate.

Groom MP Garth Hamilton echoes Mr Wagner, saying Labor did not consider how its decisions impacted regional areas, like the Darling Downs.

“I have spoken with both John Wagner and Peter Dutton this morning and the Liberal-National Party is committed to working with all stakeholders to resolve the issue,” he said

“Local issues like this are why I am fighting so hard to return the coalition to government.”

The announcement comes almost a year to the day that budget airline Bonza went into liquidation, bringing an end to its passenger services out of Wellcamp.