Passenger numbers taking off as school holidays land

Passenger numbers are set to soar over the next two weeks at Launceston Airport with tens of thousands of passengers set to make their way through the airport.

A total of 61,000 passengers are forecast to come through the airport across the two-week holiday period with Saturday the 12th of October set to be the busiest day with more than 4200 passengers expected.

The school holiday crowds come off the back of the busiest August in the airport’s history, with 104,204 passengers passing through the airport for the month.

The record August figures were 5.2% higher than the year before and will be bolstered next month with the resumption of direct seasonal services to Adelaide and Perth.

Virgin Australia will recommence its seasonal service to Adelaide on the 8th of October and Perth on the 27th. Qantas will bring its direct seasonal service to Brisbane back on the 14th of December, just in time for the Christmas peak.

Launceston Airport CEO Shane O’Hare said these direct services will be welcomed by both passengers and exporters.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard to provide more direct services for our passengers and our local producers, and that’s why we’ve doubled the amount of them since the pandemic,” he said.

“Producers want fast, direct access for their time-sensitive freight and passengers just want to get to their destination quickly so it’s no surprise these services are popular.

"We welcome the commitment from both Virgin Australia and Qantas to bring these direct services back and we are hopeful of making them year-round options in the not-too-distant future.

“It’s only through the great support of our airline partners that we are able to deliver the record passenger numbers we saw last month.

“It is going to be busy out here during the next two weeks, so allow a plenty of time for check-in so you can sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee while taking in our world class views."

For further information contact: Launceston Airport Media on (03) 9335 3666