Hedland eyes return of Bali, Brisbane flights

Flights from Port Hedland to Bali and Brisbane will resume for the first time since COVID through a new deal between the Town of Port Hedland and its airport operator.

Councillors on Wednesday night approved a funding package for Port Hedland International Airport to incentivise carriers to bring the service back to town as early as October.

Bali flights are expected to resume late this year or early 2024.

The funds come from a deal signed between the Town and PHIA in 2016 which funneled money into the Town from passenger numbers exceeding a base figure.

Mayor Peter Carter said the funding would help the international airport maintain its status, which was important for future expansion of air services and freight opportunities.

“We are confident having a connection to Brisbane on the East coast will be a popular route used by travellers,” he said.

“Having that connection is important from an economic point of view, but also socially.

“These incentivised payments are a one-off designed to ensure the flights return to Hedland. No money will be paid until the flights start.”

PHIA chief executive Dave Batic said the support would help in negotiations with airlines, several of which had already shown interest.

“We are having conversations with multiple airlines both domestically and internationally to add Port Hedland to their schedule,” he said.

“Our team has been proactive in selling the benefits of Port Hedland as a destination and is confident we can secure new services into Port Hedland with the support of the Town and improve liveability through connectivity.”

Flight connectivity in the North West has long been a sticking point for residents.

Singapore flights to Broome are yet to resume after being cancelled during COVID-19 and Melbourne flights to Kununurra proposed in 2019 have not yet taken off.

A deal for Brisbane and Singapore flights between the City of Karratha and JetGo fell through in 2018 when the carrier went bust, costing ratepayers thousands of dollars.

Karratha has also jockeyed with Exmouth for Christmas Island flights.

Mr Carter himself has long harboured ambitions to run an airline from the Pilbara to Vietnam, Singapore and Manila and got as far as opening an office in Perth, but no such service has ever eventuated.

This year Kununurra-based Aviair’s owners commenced an intrastate flight network connecting the North West towns to Perth, Geraldton and Darwin through a new service named Nexus Airlines.