The Aircraft Are Ageing. The Finance Is Broken. And Wollongong Is Paying the Price.
A Wollongong Airport editorial on the regional aviation funding crisis — and why Australia needs to follow New Zealand’s lead.
There’s a number worth sitting with: USD $20 million. That’s the cost of a new regional turboprop aircraft — the kind of workhorse that connects communities like ours to the rest of Australia. A used alternative is cheaper, but it comes with a hidden cost: ageing airframes, expensive spare parts, and maintenance bills that only grow over time.
This is the financial reality facing the regional airlines that serve Wollongong Airport. The fleet is getting older, finance is effectively unavailable at workable rates, and the costs flow directly into ticket prices — or routes disappear altogether.
New Zealand’s government recognised this problem last year and acted, making $30 million in concessionary loans available specifically to keep regional airlines flying. Australia has the same tools available — and the same urgent need.
The Regional Aviation Association of Australia has put a clear proposal to the Productivity Commission: a Regional Aviation Investment Fund, financed by redirecting a share of aviation revenue that currently flows into consolidated government revenue. No new taxes. Just a smarter use of money aviation already generates.
We’ve published a full editorial on why this matters for the Illawarra, what the New Zealand experience tells us, and what we need from Canberra.
