BY ISABEL EVERETT

Newcastle airport will soon be offering direct flights between the Hunter region and World Heritage site, Lord Howe Island. 

From November 14, Port Macquarie based airline, Eastern Air Services will be operating direct services on a 10-seat Beechcraft B200 aircraft providing the region with what Newcastle Airport says is “an ideal opportunity to experience an ‘overseas’ holiday whilst staying within the jurisdiction of NSW.”

Newcastle Airport CEO Dr Peter Cock said he was buoyed by the growing optimism in the aviation industry and excited about the ability of the airport to help connect its region with one of the most beautiful places on earth.

“With domestic borders starting to open, I think we’ll see strong demand for leisure travel within Australia in the coming weeks,” he said.

“We know our customers are keen to fly and with international travel still some way off, we feel the people of our region deserve a range of exciting and unique holiday options. The eco-tourism experience at this World Heritage island certainly fits that category.”

“Importantly, an opportunity also exists for our region to provide direct support to Lord Howe Island residents, acting as the key service centre for the Island providing medical, retail, and other services to the population,” said Dr Cock. 

Also speaking today, CEO of Eastern Air Services Christian Corse said he was very excited about the new opportunity.  

“Lord Howe Island is incredibly popular with the people of the Central Coast, Hunter and Mid North Coast, so we expect this service to grow quickly,” he said.

With a flight time of just under 2-hours, the schedule will commence on Saturday, 14 November with one service a week, initially, on a Saturday.

Frequency will increase with demand over the peak summer months and as awareness of the service increases. People can book now on the Eastern Air Services website or via their local travel agent.

Image Credit: Australian Geographic