Perth Airport unveils its plans to grow regional aviation

With regional passenger numbers continuing to surge, Perth Airport has started work on three key projects in the Airport Central precinct that will help cater for Western Australia’s growing regional aviation sector.

These works come off the back of almost 550,000 intrastate travellers passing through Perth Airport last month – the highest single month regional passenger number on record.

The projects include expanding the current Terminal 2 apron, building a new maintenance hangar for VARA – Virgin Australia Group’s regional and charter flying operation, and the development of a new Aviation Support Precinct to provide additional aviation support facilities for airport operators.

Perth Airport has engaged local construction partners West Coast Civil and Perkins Builders to deliver these important projects for Western Australia.

Deputy Premier, the Honourable, Rita Saffioti, said: “Our government is committed to increasing the capacity of regional aviation and its fantastic to see Perth Airport also making investments that will support improved aviation in our regions.

“Our Regional Zone Cape Scheme is making flying cheaper and more sustainable for regional communities with more than 150,000 capped airfares flown in the first 12 months, while our support for the inter-regional flight network has seen the establishment of new regional airline in Nexus Airlines.”

While acting CEO of Perth Airport, Kate Holsgrove, enthused: “Perth Airport’s continuous and efficient operations are crucial for the viability of the A$83 billion WA resource sector.

“Following the last resources boom, the opening of Terminal 2 (T2) in 2013 made a significant impact on how efficiently the airport operated, creating more capacity and a greatly improved customer experience.

“Since opening more than 10 years ago, the terminal has experienced a 54% increase in passenger numbers. The apron has now reached capacity with aircraft parking on taxiways overnight to be ready for the early morning peak departures.

“There are currently 38 overnight aircraft parking positions at T2, 18 of which are remote positions used for parking by airline partners from both T2 and T1D.

“Based on the demand of our airline partners, we will deliver an additional six remote parking positions by early next year and we are also looking at delivering an additional 11 positions,providing 55 parking positions for T2 in the future – providing a 45 per cent increase in capacity.

“The expansion of the apron provides operational flexibility for our airline partners within the Airport Central precinct and allows them to grow their business.

“We are also pleased to partner with VARA to support their growth in Western Australia and assist with their requirements into the future, which includes a new maintenance hangar and apron facility which is anticipated to be completed by September 2024.”