Australia’s newest regional carrier, Pelican Airlines, has been given the green light by CASA to commence flights next week between Newcastle and Canberra.
The Newcastle-based airline, Australian Aviation reports, will offer a twice-daily service on weekdays to Canberra from 1 June on a 19-seat BAE Jetstream 32 aircraft.
Pelican also announced it will also begin services between Sydney and Newcastle with two flights on weekdays and one on Sunday from 11 June, as well as 11 flights a week between Sydney and Mudgee, a food and wine region which has seen growth in popularity in recent years as an alternative to the Hunter Valley.
“The necessary approvals to start scheduled flights for the airline had been long awaited and he was thrilled that the first flight was now less than one week away,” Pelican chief executive Paul Graham said in a statement, the website reports.
Graham said the airline would also seek to restore services between Canberra and Newcastle, targeting government, business and defence sectors.
“This service is in high demand especially with the RAAF base located at Williamtown, Newcastle, and also with public servants commuting and working in Canberra,” Graham said.
“The service has a proven history and we are confident that it will be well supported and prosper.”
Newcastle Airport manager for aviation business development David Nye said the new services would “help fill a significant gap in the market” after the collapse of Brindabella in 2013, AA reports.
“The business community has been very vocal in their desire to see these services brought back and I’m pleased we’ve been able to do so,” Nye said in a statement.
