DEAR News Of The Area,

A recent Facebook post by a longtime friend about the price of airfares to and from Coffs Harbour elicited a large number of comments.

The furious agreement of the responses was that the cost of air travel to Sydney was exorbitant and especially those needed at short notice, say two to three days, were at best cheapest at $499 one way, with a $99 change or cancellation fee from Qantas are clear evidence of that claim.

Some fares can be almost double that.

REX fares were slightly cheaper with lower change and cancellation fees but still expensive.

There are many reasons that people need to fly to Sydney including a range of business needs and more urgent personal reasons including health, family emergencies and funerals.

The cost of these fares is a huge impost on regions like ours and impacts on our local businesses. Then there is the broader impact on the local economy, especially tourism, that is still recovering from the Covid epidemic.

Whilst the recent announcement from the Labor Government of support to maintain REX regional services is welcome, it is only a short-term measure.

Longer term reform and solutions are crucial.

Many cannot ever afford air travel, but the cost remains a significant issue for us all.

These excessive costs contribute to the broader cost of living pressures as significant indirect costs of doing business and are passed on to local consumers.

We have all enjoyed the benefits of remote options for business and communications via technology in recent times.

These are not always an effective or desirable alternative, however.

Air travel remains an essential part of our transport infrastructure especially for regional communities.

This should be a priority for our local State and Federal members and all aspiring candidates in the upcoming Federal election.

Longer term solutions to this challenge are clearly needed.

Regards,
Paul SEKFY,
Yarranbella.