The first direct flights between Sydney and Western Australia’s South West have commenced, reuniting families and bringing new visitors to the popular tourist destination.
The new Jetstar service comes less than two years after the launch of flights to and from Melbourne and will add three flights a week between the east coast and Busselton-Margaret River region.
It’s hoped the flights will bring an extra 28,000 people to the South West each year, including new travellers like Sydneysider Oly Kuz, who booked her ticket on a whim six months ago.
“I literally knew nothing [about Busselton] — I googled some pictures and saw a really beautiful jetty and amazing beaches and everyone says Margaret River has the best wine, so now I’m here,” she said.
“I have gone to Perth quite a lot but I have never had the chance to go south because it was too complicated to hire a car and drive and it’s so awesome that I can just fly into the south.
“If everything goes well, maybe I’ll just move here.”
For others, the flights have given them an opportunity to reunite with loved ones on the other side of Australia.
Brodie Teoh has lived in Sydney for about 15 years and has returned home to settle in Western Australia.
“We were really stoked when we got on the first flight out of Sydney to Busselton,” he said.
“[The flights will be] so handy. It’s just so easy to fly back now to Sydney to see our friends … this means our friends can just come direct.
“I think quite a lot of our friends and family will use the direct flights from Sydney to Busselton to see us.”
A gateway to ‘anywhere in the world’
Plans to expand the terminal have been talked about for years, but the state government shelved $10 million in funding for the project until after direct flights between Melbourne and the South West had proven successful.
City of Busselton Mayor Phil Cronin urged the government to put the upgrade back on the table to help open up future opportunities for international flights to places like Singapore.
“We hope the state will be opening its eyes to how busy we are now. We are getting to capacity,” he said
“They were talking about doing this upgrade three or four years ago … we were told we needed three years to prove ourselves and within two years we’ve got 100,000 seats already coming in.
“It’s a great opportunity and we’re really hoping the state and federal [governments] will pitch in to help us.”
“Can you imagine anyone living down here in the South West would be able to jump on there and get to Singapore and fly off to anywhere in the world?
“That would be absolutely great. But more so [it would] get the local produce in the belly of the plane and sell that to the Asian market.”
‘We need to do more’
Dunsborough local Bruce Lamb picked up his sister from the airport and said the pair would use the flights multiple times each year to catch up.
“I only have to get dropped off here and then I can be in Sydney,” he said.
“[There will be] a huge pick-up in tourism and people exploring the area.”
But he agreed there needed to be better infrastructure for travellers coming in and out of the South West.
“We need to do more,” he said
“We need a larger terminal for arrivals and departures … they need to give funding as soon as they can.”
A state government business case into an expansion of the airport is underway and is expected to be finished at the end of next month.