Western Victoria: Ballarat Council push on to expand airport

With a runway extension underway, Ballarat has set its sights on joining other regional centres in being a major player in air travel.

Ballarat is bolstering the case for passenger flights to be introduced at its airport with a study showing more than 1000 people from western Victoria presently travel daily to Melbourne to fly.

The airport is owned by Ballarat City Council and plays a crucial role during emergencies such as the bushfire that broke out west of the city nearly two weeks ago.

A water bomber mops up a spot fire near Beaufort last week. Picture: Mark Stewart

But a push is on for Ballarat to join other major regional centres in having interstate passenger flights.

Albury and Mildura airports had 236,000 and 205,000 passengers respectively for the 12 months to the end of July last year.

The Ballarat airport runway is being extended to 1800 metres, which will ultimately allow for larger commercial planes as well as aerial firefighting and emergency services aircraft.

The airport presently runs at a loss with regulation costs accounting for about 50 per cent of expenses, according to federal government data.

Introduction of commercial flights into Ballarat has the backing of close to 80 per cent of businesses surveyed as part of recent community consultation conducted by council.

Businessman Matt Haymes from Haymes Paints said passenger flights into Ballarat would be “fantastic” given the increased time needed to travel to Tullamarine.

“It’s far more challenging getting to Tullamarine than what it used to be,” he said.

“It used to be just an hour down the road.

“But it’s at least an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes if you get a good run.

“There is undoubtedly demand for it.”

Ballarat mayor Des Hudson.

Mayor Des Hudson said demand for commercial flights in Ballarat was “strong”.

“Not only did the community note how much easier it would be to visit family and friends or head off on holidays, but the feedback also noted that it would be a benefit to Ballarat’s economy, with visitors easily able to access the city from interstate,” he said.

“Ballarat’s airport and economic development teams have been working alongside experts to delve into a comprehensive passenger catchment study to measure how many Ballarat and Western Victorian residents travel by air and what airport they use.

“The demand for air travel is strong, and this study showed on average more than 1000 people travel daily from our region to Melbourne airport.

“We hold an important role as the regional centre for Western Victoria, and the access to transport we can provide.”