Jake Nelson

The airport has joined Adelaide, Brisbane, Parafield, and Sydney Airports at Level 4 under ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme, with Newcastle the only Australian airport to rank higher.

Commencing on 21 October, Jetstar will fly three times per week return year-round between Newcastle and Denpasar using its A321neo LR fleet, reducing the need for Hunter region residents to travel to Sydney for Bali flights.

The planes, which are configured for Australia and Pacific island flights, are fitted with 214 seats and are expected to add 70,000 seats per year to the airline’s network capacity. The first, ZK-NNH, will arrive on 4 June, with the second expected later in the month.

Starting late next month, Virgin 737s will be deployed on Brisbane-Mount Isa services, while 737s will operate more Brisbane-Townsville flights starting in November, adding around 6,000 seats per month on the route.

The Flying Kangaroo has applied for up to seven flights per week on the Canada route over January, dropping to four in the following months, translating to a 68 per cent increase in capacity or around 11,000 extra seats.

Dubbed the Connecting Queensland fund, the scheme replaces the former Labor government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, with details on its size expected in the next state budget. One of its goals will be to attract direct flights to India, said Premier David Crisafulli.