Qantas recently announced it would start weekly flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Karratha from May 3 to service the region’s expanding resources industry.The weekly return service from Melbourne to Karratha will operate on Mondays while the weekly return service from Sydney to Karratha will operate on Thursdays.It will take the number of passenger flights coming in and out of Karratha Airport, a Shire of Roebourne operated facility, to more than 70 a week.

Shire of Roebourne chief executive officer Collene Longmore said the Karratha Airport was on track to record more than 700,000 passenger movements this year.She said the expanded Qantas service was good news for local residents and would make it more convenient and affordable to travel to the east coast.The Karratha Airport is fast establishing itself as a major air transport hub, second only to Perth Airport, and that growth shows no signs of slowing, Ms Longmore said.The $21-million upgrade and lengthening of airport runways, completed in March last year, means we can now accommodate the bigger aircraft needed to make interstate flights commercially viable.This was the first of many major redevelopment projects, including increased parking and a terminal expansion, highlighted in the Karratha Airport Master Plan.The Shire of Roebourne is currently redesigning the terminal car park to increase its capacity.