Fly Corporate has restored nonstop air links to Brisbane and Melbourne for residents in Wollongong and broader Illawarra region on the NSW south coast that were lost when Jetgo collapsed earlier in 2018.
The regional carrier commenced flying from Illawarra Regional Airport, also known as Albion Park, to Melbourne Essendon and Brisbane with Saab 340s on Sunday.
Photographer Dave Soderstrom captured the arrival of Saab 340B VH-VEO at Melbourne Essendon as the FC225 a little after 1540.
Fly Corporate has scheduled nine flights a week between Albion Park and Melbourne Essendon, with two flights a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday alongside one flight a day on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
It already offers nonstop flights from Melbourne Essendon to Dubbo and Orange.
Melbourne Essendon Airport, also known as Essendon Fields Airport, has been seeking to build up its regular public transport (RPT) offering to regional destinations.
The other airline offering RPT flights out of the close-in Melbourne airport is Sharp Airlines, which has four routes to Tasmania and regional Victoria.
Fly Corporate has scheduled four services a week on the Albion Park-Brisbane route. Flights depart Albion Park on Mondays, Thursdays and twice on Fridays and depart Brisbane on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
In October 2107, RPT flights returned to Illawarra Regional Airport for the first time in almost a decade when Jetgo started service to Melbourne Essendon and Brisbane.
However, those flights lasted less than a year, with Jetgo entering voluntary administration in June 2018 and eventually wound up.
In response to the loss of those flights, Shellharbour City Council conducted a tender for RPT services into and out of Illawarra Regional Airport.
Fly Corporate was announced as the winner of that tender in September.
