Qantas today announced a second direct service between Sydney and the Sunshine Coast. The new service will build on the growing demand for Sydney and is well timed to take advantage of international connections.
The new daily Qantas service* is expected to begin in March 2019 and has been timed to connect the Sunshine Coast to the extensive Qantas international network over Sydney to Europe, America, Asia and the Pacific.
The new service adds further choice to the very popular early morning Sydney business service and builds on Sunshine Coast Airport’s record passenger growth, recently released by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE).
The BITRE report for September 2018, Sunshine Coast Airport recorded a 7.2% increase in passenger movements compared to September 2017. Hobart was the second fastest growing with a 4.9% increase.
For the year to the end of September 2018, Sunshine Coast Airport recorded 12.3% growth in passenger movements, comprising a 12.4% increase in domestic travellers and 10% growth in international passenger movements.
Sunshine Coast Airport Acting CEO, Frank Mondello, said “the new service reflected the growing popularity of ‘flying Sunshine Coast’ for both domestic and international travel and adds another dimension to the expanding choices available for business, leisure or conference travelers.
It provides the convenience of flying from the Sunshine Coast airport with access to just about anywhere in the world without having to battle the Bruce Highway,” said Mr Mondello.
“The Sunshine Coast is attracting record levels of infrastructure investment including the development of Sunshine Coast Hospital precinct, the Maroochydore city centre and now the new international submarine cable project. This project alone will deliver Australia’s premier telecommunications connectivity and could attract some of the world’s most-intensive data users to our region. Our role is to help support this investment with world class access.”
The Qantas decision comes in advance of the new runway currently under construction at Sunshine Coast Airport and due to be opened in 2020. “The new runway will be a game-changer for the region and will enable airlines to schedule direct services into Sunshine Coast Airport using larger aircraft from a far wider range of international and domestic ports.”
*The new service is scheduled:
Depart Sydney 10.30am, arrive Sunshine Coast 12.05pm
Depart Sunshine Coast 12.45pm, arrive Sydney 14.30pm
which also aligns with connecting flights to Europe, Americas and Asia.