THE Whitsunday Coast Airport has posted its best first quarter result on record, with more than 72,000 passengers passing through the terminal during July, August and September of 2014.
The result eclipses the previous comparative quarterly result, posted in 2007, and is a far cry from just three years ago, when the airport posted its worst financial year result since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
Overall, it is an extremely healthy 17.6 per cent increase in passenger numbers for the same period as last year.
Whitsunday Mayor Jennifer Whitney said the strategy Council had put in place to grow and develop the airport was having positive effects on both the facility and the region’s tourism industry.
“Our airport, which is the community’s airport, is a key component in our infrastructure commitment to the tourism industry,” she said. “Results such as these provide a huge confidence boost to our region and our economy and it is very pleasing to see the hard work Council is putting into the facility is paying dividends.”
Council’s CEO Scott Waters said the record result was a culmination of three years of hard work across Council, with more still to be done, to ensure provision of the very best possible facility for airline partners, passengers and stakeholders.
“Three years ago the airport posted its worst financial year result since the GFC, [and] at that point in time it was paramount to get the facility moving in the right direction again to ensure that the region’s tourism industry could prosper and grow,” Mr Waters said.
“Today we are on the cusp of high level growth at the airport that will positively affect the entire region.”
Mr Waters said the airport was a fantastic community asset which Council and the State Government were planning to develop via the ‘Whitsunday Coast Airport International Export Hub Project’ (WCA IEH)
“This will allow the community’s assets to reach its full potential and provide the region with its only fully integrated multi-modal transport hub, focused on road, rail and air transportation,” he said.
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