Tasmania wants more flights - launches stunt fund

Tasmania's flailing minority Liberal government has completely stuffed up the introdution of its much-vaunted new Spirit of Tasmania ferries, so is desperate to create some positive energy around tourism.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who is so short of talent in his team that he has to also take on the role of Tourism Minister, this week announced a "$5 million Aviation Attraction Fund".

Rockliff claims this drop in the ocean will "increase domestic flights to and from Tasmania and enhance the potential for new international routes for locals and visitors alike".

He added the fund would "help to secure new routes from domestic and international destinations or extend existing seasonal services".

Given that Hobart Airport is currently a building site - as has been the case for much of the past decade - and does not have adequate bagging handling services and requires passengers to walk across the tarmac to their planes in mid-winter, I think he is being optimistic.

“This investment will drive visitation - boosting our local economy, supporting jobs and creating more opportunities for Tasmanians,” Rockliff said. He rarely makes any statement with mentioning the word "jobs" several times.

“For Tasmanians, it will mean more choices when they travel interstate or overseas, and support for our trade and export markets."

Quite what this taxpayer-funded fund will actually do is a little bit hazy. And the press release did not say who will run it, oversee it, or what its annual budget will be. Details!

But Hobart Airport CEO Norris Carter is firmly on board,. saying the Aviation Attraction Fund would help to unlock huge benefits for Tasmania.

“Aviation is a competitive business, and these funds will give Tasmania a competitive edge to secure new and extra domestic and international flights,” Carter said.

“Importantly, this fund will go a long way to helping to secure direct international flights to Asia, once we complete our $130 million runway upgrade in the middle of this year.”

Launceston Airport CEO Shane O’Hare also welcomed the announcement.

"Today's announcement will ensure Launceston Airport can competitively engage with domestic airlines to attract more vital connections for our passengers in what is a very competitive domestic market,” O’Hare said.

He believes the fund is "vital for Tasmania to compete with other states to attract aviation investment.”

The Aviation Attraction Fund will support "both Tasmania’s 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy and the Tasmanian Trade Strategy 2019-2025". 

If only we knew the nitty gritty. Will it be spent on advertising, or inducements?  Who knows? 

The key area in which Tasmania is sadly second rate

It is time, as comedian Shaun Micallef would say, for some "plain speakin". 

Tasmania is gobsmackingly gorgeous, a destination that draws in visitors from around the world for its natural beauty, great food and wine and delightful accommodation. 

Unfortunately, however, while Tasmania has a "world class" tourism industry, it has a main airport that is embarrassingly second rate. 

Hobart Airport has spent much of the past decade as a building site as work has been done on its terminal, its car parks and its access roads. 

But it remains a bit of a joke because it has never had the foresight to install air bridges (also known as jet bridges). 

In one of the coldest cities in Australia, passengers have to walk to and from their planes across the tarmac. Often in biting winds and sleet. When it rains in Hobart passengers get soaking wet boarding or disembarking. 

First impressions etc. 

This week, Hobart Airport unveiled a 20-year draft (I said draft, not daft) "masterplan" to expand the airport's capacity - with construction due to start over the next two to four years. 

Only one problem. While $60 million has been budgeted to expand the airport's runway, there is no cash to build to a few air bridges, which apparently cost around $1 million each. 

This in a state where they want to spend upwards of $750 million for a new stadium that would host around a dozen AFL games each year. 

The rationale, according to airport chief executive Norris Carter, is that air bridges would be "too expensive" and would add to the cost of air tickets in the long run. 

I call bulldust. Four air bridges would cost $4 million. Throw in a couple more million for a small second-storey extension, if needed, and some escalators. 

I would have thought $6 million was a fair price to pay for a proper facility for the gateway for most tourists coming in and out of the state. 

Yes, those very people who waited up to 90 minutes in the freezing cold when the airport couldn't get its procedures right during Covid testing.

If $6 million extra is beyond the state's "majority Liberal-National Government" then maybe some initiative could be shown. 

How about a one-off lottery with a million-dollar first prize with the aim of raising the funds needed? It worked for the Sydney Opera House. 

Or how about finding a sponsor willing to tip in a major sum in exchange for having their brand name plastered all over the air bridges? Not even considered, apparently. 

This for an airport that will handle an estimated 5.5 million passengers a year in 25 years time. 

Currently, Hobart handles around 2.8 million passengers a year. A $1 per passenger levy over three years would pay for the air bridges and building extension. Too hard, apparently. 

Norris Carter and Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania CEO Luke Martin are in lockstep that "an air bridge would lead to steeper fares, as well as flight delays". 

Yep. Those pesky air bridges at Heathrow, Atlanta, Sydney and other major airports around the world are such a failure. Even Pyongyang Airport in North Korea has air bridges. 

Carter says the the plans to upgrade the airport will cost in "the hundreds of millions of dollars". But no one has the nous to include a few "expensive" air bridges. 

It would be funny if it wasn't so sad and lacking in foresight.