Tassie-based travellers may need to wait a little longer than expected for direct international flights, as Hobart Airport’s terminal expansion faces setbacks.
The federal cities minister Alan Tudge said in October that Hobart Airport was expected to provide capacity for international airlines from the end of 2020 as part of a $1.6 billion Hobart City Deal.
“We are providing the capacity for international airlines to be able to take off from the end of next year and our full expectation is that they will,’’ he said, according to The Mercury.
However, the airport has since announced its expansion plans have been pushed back after an Australian-Dutch consortium acquired a majority stake in the airport in late October.
A spokesperson from the airport told Travel Weekly the new majority stakeholders, Queensland Investment Corporation and Royal Schiphol Group, would like to “look over” the expansion plans before proceeding.
A spokesman from the Tasmanian state government told The Mercury Hobart Airport was preparing to enable international flights and the government has committed to having an Australian Federal Police presence once flights are confirmed but would not confirm if the target date had been moved.
