Newcastle Airport’s runway will be upgraded with Federal funding of $66 million to allow longer-range domestic and international services.
The runway is owned, operated, and controlled by the RAAF (as the Williamtown airbase), but also serves the Newcastle Airport jointly owned by Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council.
The Commonwealth funding, announced in the days before the Federal Budget will allow the runway to be upgraded to Code E status, meaning it will be able to accommodate long-range, wide-bodied aircraft such as the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A330.
Newcastle Airport Pty Ltd has estimated the improvements could create around 4400 full-time jobs, deliver an additional 850,000 visitors to the region and add $12.7 billion to the local economy over the next 20 years.
Pending parliamentary approvals, construction is expected to start later this year and to be completed in 2023. The work will be done alongside scheduled runway maintenance being undertaken by the RAAF.