Launceston Airport powers ahead with strong first-quarter performance

More than 278,000 people passed through Launceston Airport in the first quarter of the financial year, representing 90 per cent of pre-Covid traffic for the same quarter in 2019 and a 2,000 per cent increase on 2020.

Launceston Airport Chair Hugh McKenzie said the results showed the airport is bouncing back from Covid and is set up for a strong future.

“Launceston’s tourism profile is growing both within Australia and overseas, and these passenger figures show that people know what a great tourism product we have here in Tassie,” he said.

“As the northern gateway to Tasmania, Launceston Airport is continuing to work with airlines to deliver new and more frequent scheduled services to drive visitation to our region and connect Tasmanians to the mainland,” he said.

“That includes the upcoming resumption of Virgin Australia flights to Perth and Adelaide that we recently announced, as well as some future network announcements to come.

“We’re continuing to invest in infrastructure that will grow our business, including our terminal upgrade which is well underway. We’re also investing in a new Tasmanian freight hub that will enable additional cargo operations and support local producers to get their products to market, as well as investigating options for green energy production as we work toward a net-zero future.

“Our efforts to support Tasmania and grow new travel markets even during the past two challenging years were recognised last month as we were named 2022 Airport of the Year at the Australian Aviation Awards. We’re also a finalist in the upcoming Tasmanian Tourism Awards.

“With these great results behind us and exciting projects ahead of us, having the right team in place is critical, and I’m pleased that we have a strong management team to lead the way on delivering on our commitments and growth plans.

“Our bench strength has been further boosted under the leadership of CEO Shane O’Hare, with Geoff Duggan joining as Head of Finance and Corporate Services and Steven Pickering taking on the role of Head of Commercial. In addition, Marcus Lancaster has been promoted to Head of Operations and Assets and Ilya Brucksch to Head of Planning, Development and Customer.

“Geoff was previously with Tasmanian Ports Corporation and Steven was most recently with Hobart Airport. They, along with the rest of the team, both bring extensive experience and capabilities to deliver our strategy to grow our business and support the economic development of Northern Tasmania,” Mr McKenzie said.