Launceston Airport at 94% of pre-Covid passenger numbers, new check-in hall by December
One of Tasmania’s main airports is just shy of returning to pre-Covid passenger numbers, while record numbers are projected for 2023-24. However, a key chokepoint potentially remains.
Launceston
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Launceston Airport has bounced back to 94 per cent of its pre-Covid passenger numbers, new figures show, while next financial year is expected to see patronage at 103 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
From January – March 2023, 368,303 passengers passed through the airport, 94 per cent of the number processed between January – March 2020 (i.e. the last quarter pre-Covid) and 55.6 per cent higher that the same quarter of 2022.
Preliminary figures indicate 118,703 people were processed by the airport in April, which is 92 per cent of the April 2019 figure.
“Our numbers for the first four months of the year underline the strength of Tasmania’s tourism offering, and the importance of the airport as the state’s northern gateway,” Launceston Airport chief executive Shane O’Hare said.
“Launceston’s recovery is tracking ahead of much larger Austraia airports, which is testament to the hard work our team has done with the airlines to create new domestic connections (such as Virgin Australia flights direct to Adelaide and Perth, and additional Brisbane services).”
Mr O’Hare said airport management believed that it was on track to deliver 103 per cent of its pre-Covid passenger visits in 2023–24.
Mr O’Hare said the airport was aiming to deliver an $11m upgrade to its check-in hall, jointly funded by the state and federal governments, by December.
Airport management previously said that the “project will double the size of the airport’s check-in hall, with an additional 650 sqm offering space for self-check-in equipment, an easier security experience and an enhanced retail offering’.
New security technology would “reduce stress and save time by allowing passengers to keep laptops, tablets and aerosols in their bags,” management said previously.
There will remain only two lanes of security between the check-in and departure halls, despite the airport grinding to a halt when one of the X-ray machines fail, exactly what happened on July 29 last year, leading to chaotic scenes.
“We’re confident the new equipment will minimise the risk of delays,” Mr O’Hare said.
He described the new system, provided by Leidos, as “absolutely world class, state-of-the-art”.
“Some of the equipment we’ve operated here up until now was getting a bit old. All machines tend to break down from time to time,” Mr O’Hare said.
“But generally reliability has been very high.”
State Development Minister Michael Ferguson said the state government saw its relationship with the airport as a partnership.
He listed the government’s financial support, including $5.5m towards the check-in hall upgrade and an additional $16.7m spent on upgrading Evandale Rd, Western Junction by duplicating it to four lanes – although his claim the stretch now provided “quite a beautiful gateway to the city” may have been stretching credulity.
The state government has chipped in an additional $1.6m towards a $4m upgrade of the airport’s 800 sqm Virgin Australia Cargo facility, enabling it to handle nearly 500 tonnes worth of produce and manufactures per annum.
The airfreight cargo facility is due for completion by September. Once built, Virgin Australia will lease the warehouse for 10 years from Launceston Airport.
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