Australian Aviation

The Passenger Movement Charge (PMC), which was increased to $70 per passenger as of last July, is added to departing international passengers’ airfares and brought in more than $1.2 billion in revenue for the overnment annually pre-COVID.

The airport is in discussions regarding an expanded international satellite with up to five new wide-body gates, as well as more room for shops, passenger waiting areas and airline lounges.

The low-cost carrier will add more than 140 new evening flights on the route, as well as upgrade more than 170 existing A320-200 services to A321s, increasing capacity by 14 per cent over 2024. In total, Jetstar will offer more than 350,000 Melbourne–Sunshine Coast seats in 2025.

The airport recorded 277,000 passengers last month, up from a pre-COVID-19 December high of 271,154 in 2019.

Teams will now attempt to improve the structures to make them safer by the end of January and fully complete the upgrade by the end of this year.

The aircraft, A9-497, was lost during a 1944 mission when it made an emergency water landing off the coast of Darwin. Remarkably, all four crew members survived the incident and were rescued the next day.