Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley awaits funding decision that would make direct flights to the east a reality

Airport Consultancy Group has been chosen as the preferred contractor for the $15 million runway extension at East Kimberley Regional Airport, which would allow direct flights from the east coast. The Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley is expecting to hear within the week whether their $13.5m funding application for the runway upgrade through the Growing Regions Program was successful, with construction pencilled in to begin in May. The upgrade would be a game-changer for tourism in the East Kimberley by opening the region to direct flights from the east coast. At Tuesday night’s council meeting, councillors voted for the runway extension to be completed by Airport Consultancy Group, which has have already completed stage one of the project that strengthened the taxiway and apron for heavier aircraft from the east coast. SWEK chief executive Vernon Lawrence said the shire had to pick the contractor before finding out if they would get the funds because the Growing Regions grants require work to commence by May. The plan is for the runway to be complete by December. Mr Lawrence said a longer runway that could accommodate Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s without special conditions would open a plethora of economic opportunities for the region. “It will allow 4C category aircraft to fly unrestricted from Kununurra,” he said. “They would be able to take off at the maximum fuel and passenger limit and fly non-stop to the east coast. “It’s underpinning infrastructure for the whole of the Kimberley, all the way to Halls Creek.” “If I was to build a hotel in Kununurra, I would be looking at whether there were flights direct from the east coast for good occupancy rates.” In 2020, Virgin Australia was just about to begin trialling direct flights from Kununurra to Melbourne in an 80-seater Fokker 70 aircraft before the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled those plans. Airport Consultancy Group describes itself as an aviation infrastructure-focused consultancy that undertakes civil engineering and construction projects throughout Australia, the Asia Pacific and across the globe. Its expertise is in airport operations, air traffic management infrastructure and airspace management.