MAYOR Col Murray said QantasLink’s decision to reduce flights out of Tamworth would hurt the region’s businesses.
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Cr Murray has called-on the airline’s executives to come to Tamworth and discuss the way forward.
“This will have a serious impact on our airport business and a serious impact on business right across the region” Cr Murray said.
“We will seek urgent meetings with the general manager and executives of QantasLink.”
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The Tamworth Regional Airport has experienced and extended period of growth in the last five years, the mayor said, with passengers numbers up by 34 per cent.
But the progress could be lost with flights being scaled-back.
“We expect that will take a pretty fair hit and maybe that growth might level-out or go into decline with these reductions,” he said.
Cr Murray said the drop in service was due “the shortage of air crews and particularly pilots”.
“They don’t expect this will be a long term thing,” he said.
The mayor also wanted to meet with federal transport minister Barnaby Joyce on the matter, but Cr Murray wouldn’t speculate on whether the New England MP would retain his ministerial portfolios.
He will request council endorse his mayoral minute calling for talks with the airline at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson met with the airline’s chiefs on Thursday.
“I’m unhappy the 6.30am flights have been taken out, as well the late afternoon flights,” Mr Anderson said.
“That is going to significantly impact on movements in and out of this great city of ours.
“The CEO was surprised to learn those flights were taken out of the schedule.
“He has given me an undertaking to go back and rework the schedules and look at what we can do to get those flights back on the agenda, particularly the 6.30am and the 5pm flights.”
The state member wants Tamworth to become home to Qantas’ $20 million pilot academy which would be capable of training up to 500 pilots a year.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
