Aviation

The Northern Territory Government’s (NTG) vision to develop ongoing access (including aviation) to and within the NT is captured in the NT’s Tourism Industry Strategy 2030 as one of the six key priorities forming the program’s strategic framework.  The Department takes a collaborative approach with industry stakeholders, including airport operators in the Northern Territory, to achieve commercially sustainable and affordable aviation services that connects Territorians with the rest of Australia and the world, and makes NT accessible to visitors.

In addition to NT’s visitor economy, air travel is essential for:

• Healthcare
• Education
• Social welfare
• Commerce
• Time sensitive freight

Immediate priorities

• Use the Territory Aviation Attraction Scheme (TAAS) to attract new domestic and international services to Darwin, and incremental air capacity to Central Australia.
• Prioritise the success and network expansion using QantasLink’s E190 Darwin base.
• Continue advocating to minimise the impact of the Australian Government’s Department of Defence runway works on civilian aviation services at Darwin Airport.
• Raise awareness of Darwin’s profile as an important leisure and business city amongst airline network and commercial planners.

Long-term priorities (from 5-years onward)

• Connect Darwin with an international Gulf-region aviation hub.
• Route development for non-stop Trans-Tasman flights, including consideration for seasonal operations.
• Destination marketing efforts to develop new markets identified in Tourism NT’s market prioritisation study.