Historic Trans-Tasman link returns to Gold Coast Airport

Gold Coast Airport will today welcome the return of its most historic international link, between Hamilton, New Zealand and the Gold Coast, the airport’s first international route, originally launched more than 30 years ago.  

Passengers onboard Jetstar’s inaugural Hamilton – Gold Coast service will be greeted by city and state leaders including QAL CEO Amelia Evans, Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs and International Student Attraction Hermann Vorster MP and TEQ CEO Craig Davidson.  

Queensland Airports Limited CEO Amelia Evans said it was exciting to build on strong demand from Kiwis wanting to visit the Gold Coast and northern New South Wales.  

“We know New Zealanders have a long-standing love affair with this region. Our current New Zealand services are always very busy, with more than 80 per cent of seats booked on average,” she said.  

“We’ve welcomed more than half a million travellers on one of our four existing New Zealand routes in the last 12 months. The Hamilton service will add another connection, further strengthening our Trans-Tasman ties and making it even easier for friends and family to reunite, holiday or explore our region.”  

Jetstar will operate the service three times a week, injecting close to $30 million into the local economy. 

Jetstar's Head of Network, Fleet Strategy and Planning, Ted Knight said two A320neos will be based on the Gold Coast to support the new services, bringing its local fleet to six. 

“Our new Gold Coast to Hamilton route will unlock more than 58,000 new low fares seats a year in both directions, providing a huge boost to tourism on both sides of the Tasman, while helping to connect the Gold Coast’s large population of Kiwi ex-pats to their home country.

“With the launch of new Gold Coast to Dunedin flights next week, Jetstar will operate a total of six routes from the Gold Coast to New Zealand – the highest number of trans-Tasman routes of any airport on our network.

“This growth is part of Jetstar’s broader strategy to enhance connectivity between Australia and New Zealand, providing our customers with more choice and low fares.

The new route was made possible with support from the Queensland Government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund (AAIF).  
It builds on Gold Coast Airport’s existing connections to Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown and Christchurch – with an additional service to Dunedin launching next week.  

Andrew Powell MP, Minister for the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation said: “We said we would connect Queensland to the world and this flight does exactly that. 
  
“The return of direct flights between Hamilton and the Gold Coast is a powerful step forward in delivering on our Destination 2045 vision.  
  
“This new route strengthens our ties with New Zealand, where more of our international visitors come from than anywhere else, and opens the door for more Kiwis to experience our world-class events, natural wonders, and vibrant communities.  
  
“As we continue to build on our green and gold runway towards the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, every new connection like this helps us build a stronger, more resilient visitor economy for the decades ahead.” 
 
Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn said the new route was positive news for the region’s tourism economy. 

“The return of the Hamilton route is a meaningful one - it reconnects us with one of the Gold Coast’s earliest international links and is a powerful reminder of the deep cultural, family and tourism ties we’ve long shared with New Zealand,” Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn said.

 “We’re excited to welcome even more visitors from the Waikato region to experience the energy, warmth and world-class offerings of the Gold Coast.”

Hamilton Airport Chief Executive Mark Morgan said the link was a two-way love affair.

“We love welcoming Australian visitors and this lands them right in the middle of some of our most loved visitor attractions.  For Kiwis, it’s a quick and easy way to get to the Gold Coast, without needing to travel to Auckland. So we all win.” 

Today’s flight from Hamilton is the first of four new routes Jetstar has announced from Gold Coast Airport – with Dunedin, Darwin and Bali services to commence in the coming weeks.