A RECORD number of passengers touched down and took off from Newcastle Airport in 2016.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The airport said it welcomed more than 1.2 million passengers last year – a 5.5 per cent increase on the year before.
Newcastle Airport chief executive Dr Peter Cock attributed the number of passengers to the increased number of flights to and from the airport.
He singled out Virgin Australia’s additional capacity as a major coup.
Virgin’s announcement was followed by FlyPelican’s inaugural flight to Dubbo.
And in October – the airport’s best-ever month for passenger movements – services to Coffs Harbour began.
Dr Cock said the festive season rounded out the year with an “unprecedented” number of flights, and hoped to build on last year’s record by luring more services to the city. “Our team is ambitious and hungry for success and is not leaving any stone unturned when it comes to delivering more flights and bringing international services to the region,” he said.