From Toowoomba to the World

But unlike airlines, which could, to some extent, enter hibernation, most airports had to soldier on. Australia is a country defined by the so-called tyranny of distance, and many aircraft need to stay in the air, from FIFO to emergency domestic flights, aerial firefighters or aeromedical personnel. Brisbane Airport’s chief executive, Gert-Jan de Graaff, summed up the collective stoicism last year when he pledged to “keep the lights on and the front door to Queensland open”.

Yet now, finally, things are on the up. Domestic flying is back on the agenda for many stir-crazy families, while the success of the vaccine rollout abroad gives us hope international flying could be back at the end of the year. Even when Brisbane went into lockdown a few weeks ago, passengers held their nerve to snap up the government’s half-price ticket deal.

If there’s a theme of this issue, it’s of resurgence. We speak to Avalon Airport’s Justin Giddings, who had to cope with a total absence of flights during Melbourne’s dark second lockdown to see how things are progressing. We outline how our biggest airports innovated due to the downturn, with the aforementioned Brisbane returning with a rebooted new runway. And we also outline the destinations set to benefit the most Australia’s cheap flights initiative.

Enjoy the issue,
Adam Thorn