Page 88 - AA 2018_11

WRITER: STEVE GIBBONS
Queensland Airports takes a unique

portfolio approach to airport ownership
REGIONAL

PORT-FOLIO

f you were looking for polar About 600,000 people now call There are more than 40 one-way To the casual observer it may seem
opposites in the world of airport the Gold Coast home, neighbours flights per week from Mount Isa, a strange commitment, but when you
ownership, then Queensland has to a further 2.4 million in the state’s to eight destinations. qal add Longreach to QAL’s other ports in
Iclose to the perfect example. capital. Mt Isa and Townsville – by accident or
The state’s central west is about as The airport in the central western design forming a north and central-
far away from the Gold Coast as you hub of Longreach (population just western Queensland geographic
can get – and that’s not just an issue short of 3,000) has something of a triangle – it begins to make more
of distance which clocks in at around more modest profile, with a link via strategic sense.
1,200 kilometres. Qantas to Brisbane, and via Rex to And while the crux of the QAL
The contrast between the sparsely Townsville, servicing the historic portfolio is built around airport
populated wide brown land of the Outback towns of Barcaldine (Qantas) asset diversification, or as CEO
Australian Outback and a burgeoning and Winton (Rex) on the way. That Chris Mills put it: “If one part is
metropolis stretching from the NSW represents nine one-way flights a week. firing and another isn’t, a portfolio
border through to Brisbane speaks To put it in further perspective, the of airports means you will have one
volumes. number of passengers passing through that’s performing more strongly when
Gold Coast Airport is the fastest Longreach each year is the equivalent another might not be,” the Longreach
growing of its type in the nation, of about two days throughput on the acquisition was something different.
connected to major Australian cities Gold Coast. Mills said it was more about testing
and handling more than 6.5 million Despite that contrast, Gold Coast how its ownership model applying
passengers each year. It is the fifth airport owner Queensland Airports to federal leases at the Gold Coast,
busiest airport in Australia and Limited was quick to add Longreach Townsville and Mt Isa would work in
sixth busiest internationally, with to its portfolio when the airport lease, a council lease environment.
direct connections to New Zealand, previously under the auspices of the “It was about QAL’s ability to
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Japan and Longreach Regional Council, became say we have a centralised corporate
Hong Kong. available in 2012. structure based on the Gold Coast:

88 AUSTRALIAN AVIATION