Sunair has set its sights on new horizons expanding services to include direct return flights from Hamilton Airport to Whakatane five days a week.
“Hamilton to Whakatane is a five hour return drive, without taking road works, traffic congestion or accidents into account,” confirms Mark Morgan, Waikato Regional Airport (WRAL) chief executive.
“So having easy, daily return flights will be great news for business people, holiday makers and, of course, it’s great for the airport,”he says. “Congratulations to Sunair for spotting a gap in the market and moving to fill it.”
In April 2023, Sunair began daily weekday flights connecting Hamilton to Gisborne, Whangarei and Napier. Since then, the region has seen the airport supporting economic activity and making it easier to do business, Morgan adds.
Flying on a Piper Aztec six-seater, passengers to and from Whakatane will join many others with connections from Waikato to destinations nationwide and across the ditch.
Four commercial air carriers now fly in and out of Hamilton with Air New Zealand, Sunair and Originair now operating from the port. In September, Jetstar announced it will be offering seven return flights per week between Hamilton, the Gold Coast and Sydney. The first of these flights will take to the skies in June.
