Passengers have welcomed extra Virgin Australia flights linking Port Macquarie and Sydney as a result of a fleet review.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Virgin Australia will operate additional services to Sydney departing Port Macquarie at 6.10am Monday to Saturday.
Flights will leave Sydney bound for Port Macquarie at 7.50pm Monday to Thursday, 8.20pm on Friday and 7.30pm on Sunday.
The new flights from late March 2020 are in addition to the existing services.
Port Macquarie's Susan Morvan said the early morning flight to Sydney would be great for business people.
"Business people need that early flight and I think coming back a bit later would extend your weekend a bit longer," she said.
Ms Morvan said if you were going to Sydney for the weekend, you want to come back as late as you could on Sunday, for example.
"I think it's an excellent idea [additional services] and I'm glad they are putting more flights on," she said.
Port Macquarie passengers Mel and Trent Cooper are also pleased with the additional flights.
"It's good for the town," Mr Cooper said.
Mrs Cooper said the early morning flight to Sydney would benefit the business community.
Mayor Peta Pinson also welcomed Virgin Australia's announcement.
"This is great news for locals and visitors, supports the growth in our community, our desire to travel and our attractiveness as a destination for business and leisure travel," she said.
"Our airport team have worked extremely hard to promote increasing airline services, and with the upgrade to our airport terminal building almost complete, the timing couldn't be better."
The $9.875 million upgrade to the airport terminal building is funded by the state government, federal government and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council.
The additional flights will see aircraft based in Port Macquarie overnight, which adds an economic benefit as crews will stay here and means early flights will be less impacted by the knock-on effects of delays at other airports.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said the increase in frequencies between Sydney and Port Macquarie would better serve the market due to the market dynamics of the route and were also the result of an adjustment made to Virgin Australia's regional network operated by its ATR aircraft.
Virgin Australia will operate 18 return services between Sydney and Port Macquarie.
The airline's spokesperson said the Sydney-Port Macquarie route provided for all segments of the market, particularly business and leisure travellers.
The Virgin Australia Group announced changes to its fleet and network in response to a review, which will deliver at least a two per cent reduction in domestic capacity in the second half of the 2020 financial year compared to the same period last year.
What else is making news, sport?
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, SIGN UP HERE.