WARRNAMBOOL again has a regular airline service to Melbourne with Sharp Airlines today resuming flights after a 10-year hiatus.
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The first flight arrived in Warrnambool at 7.20am today and the first flight out is at 8.50am after returning from Portland.
Sharp Airlines managing director Malcolm Sharp said initial bookings had been good and exceeded expectations. The service will provide two flights each weekday to Essendon airport and one each day on weekends
The weekday evening flight will arrive in Warrnambool at 5.10pm and leave at 6.40pm.
On Saturday, a flight will arrive at 10.10am and depart at 11.40am.
Sunday flights will arrive at 5.10pm and depart at 7.20pm.
Mr Sharp said the service would bring social and economic benefits to Warrnambool. The service would have its official launch on Friday, February 13, he said.
Warrnambool mayor Michael Neoh said the return of an air service to Warrnambool was “exciting”.
“We regularly receive comment from industry representatives that they would have preferred to have flown into Warrnambool to carry out their business,” he said.
Warrnambool City Council tourism services manager Peter Abbott said the airline service would help the city cater better for conferences in particular.
“A lot of people who want to come to conferences ask about air services,” Mr Abbott said.
South West Coast MP Denis Napthine said the daily weekday service would open new business opportunities for business operators to connect with their city partners, for increased tourism and residents who needed faster access to Melbourne. The resumption of the airline service comes as Warrnambool Airport at Mailors Flat undergoes a $5 million upgrade to create an aviation park to provide new hangars and road infrastructure.
The project, which includes 21 new hangar sites, a new taxiway and upgrading a grass runway to gravel, is expected to be completed by mid-year.
Mr Sharp said flights from Warrnambool to Essendon will take about 40 minutes and cost on average about $170 one way.
The aircraft used will be 19-seat Fairchild Metroliners.
The return of Sharp Airlines to Warrnambool follows its decision to end flights to Hamilton last year due to declining patronage.
Mr Sharp said patronage on the Hamilton flights had dropped due to downturns in the mining and alternative energy industries while Warrnambool’s economy was expanding.
