Mayor Jenny Whitney was there to welcome the inaugural flight today and said that the Council has continued its close partnership with Jetstar to secure the new direct route from Melbourne to the Whitsundays.

“It was great to welcome Jetstar CEO, David Hall, to the Whitsunday Coast Airport today and we thank him and the Jetstar team for their commitment and support in opening up the new Melbourne service to the Whitsundays,” Mayor Whitney said.

“The new service is expected to bring an additional 50,000 visitors to the Whitsunday region each year with an estimated annual spend of $36 million,” she said.

“The local tourism industry is very excited about the new Melbourne service which opens up the market for Whitsunday tourism operators; it paves the way for an exciting future and we look forward to welcoming new visitors to our region,” she said.

“Our local community has highlighted the need for direct flights to other major cities in Australia and it’s pleasing that we can now offer them the option of a direct Jetstar flight to Melbourne from the Whitsunday Coast Airport,” she said.

“The increase in air-access to the Whitsunday region through the new Jetstar flight supports the future development and growth of the Whitsunday Coast Airport and provides great benefit to the region as a whole,”

“Once again, I thank Jetstar for their ongoing commitment to the Whitsunday region.”
Jetstar flights between Melbourne and the Whitsunday Coast Airport will operate on Monday, Thursday and Saturday and be serviced by 180-seat A320 aircraft in a single class, from June 25th 2015.