Passenger numbers at Avalon Airport are soaring.
The airport’s sole carrier, Jetstar, is on track to carry a record 780,000 passengers through Avalon this year – a 38 per cent increase in the last two years. Wyndham residents make up about 15 per cent of Avalon customers.
Jetstar Australia and New Zealand chief executive Dean Salter said the airline ran 97 weekly flights to and from Sydney, the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Hobart.
“More than a quarter of a million additional travellers are flying to and from Avalon Airport this year compared to two years ago, which is great for the local economy,” Mr Salter said.
“Avalon Airport is the gateway for many people wanting to enjoy some of the great attractions in the area, such as the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles.”
Avalon chief executive Justin Giddings said more flights, and the introduction of an express Melbourne-to-Avalon Skybus service earlier this year had helped to boost patronage.
“We’re becoming more accessible for people, and I think the economy is going very well and there’s more people who can afford to fly.
“Sydney is really popular, it’s such a big market, and the Gold Coast is also extremely popular … those two areas are really dominating.”
Mr Giddings said plans to turn Avalon into an international airport remained a high priority.
“We want to, it’s a matter of attracting an airline … it’s very difficult.
“We’re the first airport in Australia to try and compete with a major city airport, and hence it is very hard to break that monopoly. We don’t have border agencies, so we don’t have customs and quarantine here, and to get an international airline we’d need to get that.
“But it is something that we certainly really want to try and get.”
