Westralia Airports Corporation, which operates Perth Airport, has received approval for a Major Development Plan, clearing the way for work to start on its new intrastate terminal, Terminal WA.
The $136 million terminal, which will be located adjacent to the current international terminal, will cater for charter and regional flights operating within Western Australia, particularly the daily services that fly workers to and from remote mining locations. When it opens in 2012, the terminal will have 20 aircraft parking bays and a processing capacity of up to 1800 passengers per hour at its peak.
While the approval clears the way for construction to commence, WAC is understood to be finding it difficult to convince potential operators to use the new terminal, which will not feature aerobridges. Virgin Blue has publicly stated that it will remain at the current Domestic Terminal after 2012, and as such it is expected that codeshare partner Skywest will do the same. That only leaves the charter carriers, such as Alliance Airlines, Cobham, Network Aviation and Skippers Aviation as potential clients, although many already have their own facilities.
