Regional airline services will return to Port Augusta from September after the South Australian state government awarded Regional Express a route service licence to operate a three times weekly return service from Adelaide.
Rex will operate Adelaide-Port Augusta flights with Saab 340s on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from September 11, providing up to 10,000 seats a year.
Port Augusta lost its former air link to Adelaide when Sharp Airlines ceased flights on the route on May 31, citing the extra capacity brought into the region with the arrival of double-daily QantasLink services to nearby Whyalla in 2015.
“Rex is the largest regional airline in South Australia with 10 Saab 340 aircraft and 180 staff based in Adelaide,” general manager of network strategy & sales Warren Lodge said in a statement on July 27.
“Rex understands that the air service is a vital link for Port Augusta and we look forward to working in partnership with the Port Augusta City Council and the South Australian Government to ensure that the air service is sustainable.”
Rex’s Port August flights will also continue on to Coober Pedy, linking the opal mining town and Port Augusta by air for the first time.
