City of Karratha to invite NW regional flight tenders

The plan to establish an inter-regional flight service in the North West is not over yet, with the City of Karratha preparing to call for tenders for provision of the service.

City of Karratha councillors accepted expressions of interest from a number of airlines and agreed to advertise the service for tender in a confidential item at their February meeting.

Mayor Peter Long said the City would invite tenders from compliant short-listed airlines and continue negotiations following completion of the process.

“The City is committed to growing inter-regional, domestic and international services from Karratha Airport,” he said.

The City could not provide information on how many airlines had expressed interest in the service at this stage.

Last August, a plan to renew an inter-regional flight connection between five Pilbara towns and Broome was scrapped after the Shire of Broome, which was considered key to the viability of the service, declined to support it.

A separate, earlier plan by Kimberley-based flight operator Aviair to establish regular flights between the same towns has been put on hold.