Virgin Australia launch three new Gold Coast flights, restart Sydney to Canberra service

Sydney, Australia - October 7, 2013: Virgin Australia Airlines Boeing 737 airliner landing at Sydney Airport.

Virgin Australia has launched three new flights from the Gold Coast, heading to Launceston, Cairns, and Hobart, and will restart its Sydney to Canberra flight using Link Airways aircraft and crew.

The first Launceston-Gold Coast service touched down yesterday at 8.25pm, to be closely followed by the daily Cairns-Gold Coast which will launch on Thursday, then the Hobart-Gold Coast which will commence on 13 December, operating 4 times per week until 30 January 2022.

Virgin Australia chief strategy and transformation officer Alistair Hartley said the services will add over 19,000 seats each month to Virgin Australia’s domestic network.

“We see these new Gold Coast services as a vote of confidence in the Queensland tourism sector and the aviation industry as a whole,” Hartley said.

“We’re proud to be supporting Queenslanders, the local economy, and also proud to see more of our crew returning to the skies.”

Queensland tourism minister, Stirling Hinchliffe, welcomed the expansion of Virgin Australia’s Gold Coast flight schedule.

“The Palaszczuk Government understands the importance of aviation to the recovery of Queensland’s tourism industry,” he said.

“That’s why we’re continuing to support Queensland airports to get flights back in the air to the State’s visitor destinations.

“Virgin Australia’s new services to the Gold Coast and Cairns are terrific news for tourism operators and local visitor economies.

“Whether you’re reuniting with family and friends over Christmas or looking forward to a holiday getaway, Virgin Australia’s commitment to new flights makes Queensland the place to be this summer.”

Virgin Australia’s relaunched Sydney-Canberra flight will kick off from 30 January 2022 and is set to fly 53 times a week, with up to 9 flights per day on weekdays, adding 16,000 seats each month.

The services, which were originally paused in April 2020, will be using Link Airways’ Saab 340 B Plus aircraft and crew.

Links Airways CEO, Andrew Major expressed his excitement about the new collaboration between the airlines.

“Link Airways are excited to work with Virgin Australia on the resumption of their services connecting Canberra and Sydney.

“The frequency of the services offered is a strong indication of the value Virgin Australia places in facilitating connections between Canberra and interstate destinations.

“As a Canberra headquartered airline, we particularly look forward to the commencement of the services in January,” said Major.

The new flight announcements come as Aussies return to the skies coming out of lockdown and into the holiday season.

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