Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
australian aviation logo

New Busselton Margaret River terminal won’t be fast-tracked

written by Adam Thorn | June 2, 2020

The WA government has insisted the construction of a new terminal at Busselton Margaret River Airport won’t be brought forward despite pleas from the city’s mayor.

The ABC reported the $10 million of funding set aside for the project will instead be redirected to a $30 million entertainment hub and the expansion won’t begin until after a three-year trial ends for flights to Melbourne.

Peter Kalbfell from the Busselton Airport Action Group said, “We’ve got a domestic tourism market in Australia, people are looking for new destinations to go, the Margaret River destination is perfect.

“It’s very frustrating, we see so many tourists coming from Sydney and Brisbane and elsewhere and they want to travel directly to the Margaret River region. The state needs to unlock the safe and get that money out and spend it.”

 

View this post on Instagram

==
==

 

Swipe ↔️ your way through this landing ??↔️⁣ ⁣ Here at Busselton we have many passionate local aviation photographers who capture moments like this. Thanks to ? @aussiepilot05spotting for sharing this one of a @virginaustralia A320 landing on runway 21.⁣ ⁣ Not sure which is our favourite. We love the wingtip vortices on the second and the pavement reflections.

A post shared by Busselton Margaret River Airpt (@busseltonmargaretriverairport) on

In March, Jetstar began direct flights between Melbourne and Busselton, in the south-west of Western Australia. It marked the first flights from the east coast to the famous wine region.

Previously, interstate tourists from outside the state would have to fly to Perth and then drive three hours south.

While initially, the plan was to extend the airport after the three-year period, campaigners hoped it could be fast-tracked to capitalise on a hoped-for boom in domestic tourism with international borders closed.

Before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, Jetstar Group chief executive Gareth Evans said, “We actually expect to see over the first three years of operation that Jetstar will bring around 60,000 people to the region and inject around $40 million into the economy.”

The news has received a mixed reaction from local politicians, with South West Nationals MP Terry Redman arguing the delay would compromise the facility and its “tin shed” terminal; while Liberal MP Steve Thomas argued the move was sensible.

Busselton Margaret River Airport opened on 15 March 1997, and is both owned and operated by the City of Busselton.

You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member today!

Comments (3)

  • Chris

    says:

    Good decision by the WA State Government. Busselton has an airport terminal that can handle the 3 flights a week trial when it commences. Then, if the trial is a success, a new terminal can be constructed. Better than throwing more money from taxpayers at a facility where a sustainable air service has yet to be successful.

  • stop gap

    says:

    funny how the two national party members Terry Redmond from Mt Barker and Steve Thomas , combined with the previous dynamic local member Troy Buswell did nothing with their royalties for regions money when they were in govt up to 5 years ago. There must have been no tourists wanting to fly to Busselton when the Nats were in at that time, and perhaps the then Busselton local member preferred driving in Perth !!

  • Sam

    says:

    Well I guess they are waiting to see if the flight path works before investing the funds?

Comments are closed.

You don't have credit card details available. You will be redirected to update payment method page. Click OK to continue.