FEWER passengers passed through Newcastle Airport in December, the first full month of Virgin Australia’s international flights from Williamtown to New Zealand, than in the December before.
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Newcastle Airport data shows a 1.3 per cent drop in December passenger numbers compared to 2017, with 110,763 passing through the gates last month.
While the change is minor, December was the first full month of flights directly from the Hunter to New Zealand after Virgin Australia began its service in late November.
The dip in December figures follows a November passenger spike of 2.5 per cent, or an extra 2766 people, compared to the same month a year earlier.
Overall, the data shows the 2018 calendar year had 11,657 fewer passengers travelling through Williamtown compared to 2017, a dip of 0.9 per cent.
Announced in July, Newcastle Airport estimated the Virgin Australia flights would save Hunter passengers about 10 hours compared to flying out of Sydney.
Virgin Australia’s New Zealand flights are slated to continue until February 17 and may continue if the route is deemed commercially viable.
