Dust gathering on Avalon’s international terminal

Nearly six months after state borders reopened, Avalon Airport is still a skeleton operation with no international flights making use of the $48m international terminal.

The Herald Sun reports Jetstar will extend a suspension of services to and from Avalon until at least the end of October, meaning the state’s second largest airport running less than half a dozen services a day.

Avalon’s acting CEO David Crawford told the Sun he’s held preliminary talks with Air New Zealand, and hopes to land a future deal.

There’s just two destinations for flights out of Avalon – Sydney and the Gold Coast, with Jetstar operating just 25 return flights a week after the budget arm of Qantas suspended flights in late June.

Jetstar initally said it would restore it’s full flight capacity in late July, however this never eventuated. 

A Jetstar spokesperson said anyone affected by the flight suspensions could obtain a refund or change their bookings.

AirAsiaX shifted its’ operations to Melbourne Airport, now operating a Kuala Lumpur flight out of the Tullamarine facility. 

Operator Vietjet are also yet to offer flights to Vietnam from Avalon, but the Herald reports Bonza is close to recieving its’ first planes in Australia, their CEO Jim Jordan told the Herald they would offer three flights a week to the Sunshine Coast later this year 

“Our first aircraft is due to land in Australia imminently which will bring us one step closer to wheels up,” he said.

“Our team of legends is working with the aim to have wheels-up as soon as late September by progressively rolling out routes using our Sunshine Coast based aircraft first (while respecting the regulatory process) . . . our initial route map is just the beginning and we look forward to working closely with Avalon Airport on giving locals more choice and creating new markets for tourism operators in the region.”

 

 

Image: Avalon Airport, during busier pre-COVID times [R. McDonald, Geelong Broadcasters]