Tamworth, Armidale airfare to Sydney almost as costly as an international flight

It’s prompted Labor to call on the government to end the price disparity by guaranteeing regional landing slots at the second Sydney airport.

According to mid-week flight data, the cheapest return Tamworth-Sydney ticket costs $256, while an Armidale-Sydney trip sits at $322 – both journeys of less than 400km.

A 6300km return flight from Sydney to Singapore costs $379.

Labor MLC Daniel Mookhey said it was 14 times cheaper to fly from Sydney to Asia (6 cents per kilometre), than it was to fly to Tamworth (83 cents per kilometre) or Armidale (86 cents).

“It is maddening for a resident of Tamworth or Gunnedah or many other communities to watch Sydney-siders hop to another continent for $379, while they see reduced local flights,” he said.

Mr Mookhey said the government had to make regional landing slots a priority in the design of the Badgerys Creek airport.

“With the construction of a second Sydney Airport, there is a once-in-a-century opportunity to finally solve the competition issues which delivers regional NSW such a raw deal,” he said.

“Sadly, we’ve seen the Premier and Prime Minister jump to explain how the second Sydney airport will deliver a better deal for Sydney; they have nothing to say about how it will deliver for the rest of NSW.

“Regional NSW is entitled to feel like they’ve been abandoned again.”

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has previously lobbied his federal counterpart to increase the number of hourly slots at Sydney’s current airport from 80 to 85, with the additional five slots to be reserved for regional flights.

The Leader has contacted Mr Constance and federal Transport Minister Michael McCormack.