Avalon Airport is to get Bali flights from March with the airport to be expanded with more terminal seats, a new daily bus rail service and more car parks.
Jetstar is to operate an Airbus 321 on the Avalon-Bali route five times a week, starting on March 23, with a direct flight time of about six hours.
Jetstar will also restart its Adelaide-Avalon service with seven flights from March 26 and add five extra weekly flights to Brisbane.
The government says the airport will receive major upgrades to cater for extra visitors with 1000 new seats in the international and domestic terminals, upgrades to runway lighting, security equipment such as CCTV cameras and 500 extra car park spaces.
Government is expecting the expansion to add up to 320,000 seats annually with 120,000 of those seats from the new Avalon-Bali service.
A new bus route between Lara Station and the airport will be added; Route 18 will operate seven days a week.
Avalon Airport is 55km from Melbourne’s CBD but 8km east of Lara station.
AVALON AIRPORT BOOST
The premier says the news means “more flights for Avalon and more jobs for Geelong”.
Airline chief executive officer Stephanie Tully predicts their decisions will attract “thousands more customers” to Avalon supporting the economic growth of Melbourne, Geelong, the Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula.
Melbourne Avalon Airport CEO Ari Suss says the decision means greater frequency and better connections for travellers from Melbourne-Geelong.
Industry Ministry Colin Brooks predicts travellers will have “easier access to the airport” with the new services.
Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams believes the new bus route will improve access for thousands of workers and passengers every day while Regional Development Minister Jaclyn Symes says more regional intrastate flights will be possible.
“This infrastructure will set the foundation for even more flights in regional Victoria for years to come,” she says.
MP for Lara Ella George also says the new bus route is a major boost for public transport in Geelong’s North.
Geelong MP Christine Couzens says: “This means more jobs, more flights, more people and more money in the local economy.”
MP for Bellarine Alison Marchant says it means more visitors to her electorate: “It’ll help drive more visitors to the Bellarine and give locals more flight options closer to home.”
The airport is already home to the southern hemisphere’s largest airshow, the Avalon Australian International Airshow.
The three-day airshow, which features flypasts and static displays, is held biannually with the next one in 2027.
