Flights between Hobart and Antarctica resume as airport runway upgrades enter final stages
The first flight of the season between Hobart and Antarctica has finally arrived much later than usual due to airport upgrades. Those upgrades have airport chief eyeing off two new destinations.
Tasmania
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tasmania. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Flights between Hobart and Antarctica have resumed after work on aircraft parking bays at the airport disrupted the service.
Royal Australian Air Force planes flying personnel to Antarctica were forced to leave from Launceston or Avalon in Victoria since October.
“Over the summer, we’ve been rebuilding our aircraft parking bays to cater for the larger widebody aircraft,” Hobart Airport CEO Norris Carter said.
“What that meant was that we basically haven’t had a space for them to park.”
Aircraft typically fly between Hobart and Antarctica between November and March.
However, because of the work at the airport, the first flight for the summer season did not take off for Antarctica from Hobart until February 19.
Meanwhile, a $130m project to upgrade the runways at the Hobart Airport is two-thirds done and will likely be completed by the middle of the year.
“We’ve laid 60,000 tonnes of asphalt, got about 45,000 tonnes to go. We’ve put down around 20,000 square metres of new aircraft pavement,” Mr Carter said.
“That’s about the same size as the MCG.
“The project will finish around the middle of this year, which we’re really looking forward to. It’ll be great for tourism, great for agriculture, and great for Antarctic research.”
Mr Carter said the new runway would likely lead to extra flights to and from Hobart.
“What the runway upgrade does is it opens up, for the first time, the possibility of having direct flights into Asia.
“We’ve never been able to do that before. We’re getting into discussions with airlines about starting those flights.”
Singapore and Hong Kong were the two locations that were being targeted.
“Those have important visitor numbers for us, but also, they’re both excellent hubs for the rest of Asia and Europe.”
A further $200m is also being spent to redevelop the Hobart Airport terminal, which is expected to be completed by early 2027.
Minister weighs in amid uproar over dead salmon chunks
In the wake of a mass fish death that has seen chunks of dead salmon washing up on beaches in Southern Tasmania, the state government has been forced to clear the air over the issue.
Grandmother sentenced over ‘intentionally cruel’ reign of abuse
A Hobart grandmother who inflicted an escalating regime of discipline upon her grandson that “moved from being reasonable to being intentionally cruel” has learnt her fate.