Toowoomba and regional jets – an imbroglio

After years of debate surrounding its existing short runway, nearby Oakey or a new site, Toowoomba’s mayor is now pushing a $5.5m upgrade to the airport, hopefully eliminating the runway hump and lifting it to just reach Q400 capability. Longer term, building a new jet capable airport at a greenfield site is also being floated, raising the prospect of a costly two airport concept.

Toowoomba is gateway to 145,000 people which is forecast to grow to 280,000 or more if the local resources industry just west of the city booms. That would drive a push for a direct Sydney service, which would possibly use Qantas’s Q400s or Virgin’s E170/ E190s. A 6.30am Sydney departure time (5.30am local summer time) with an 8pm (Sydney time) arrival back in Toowoomba, allowing a full day in Sydney year round, would be needed to draw customers back from 5am departures from Sydney. This assumes CASA would permit operations at night on Toowoomba’s runway with its nearby confusing lighting “traps”, which elsewhere have seen RPT jets line up with highways rather than runway. These flights would also occur in peak fog and low cloud periods at the 2086ft high airport.