{"id":506961,"date":"2026-02-27T06:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T06:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/506961\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T06:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T06:17:11","slug":"cheaper-flight-push-for-karratha-as-fifo-families-feel-airfare-sting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/506961\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheaper flight push for Karratha as FIFO families feel airfare sting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">A renewed national push to drive down regional airfares has been welcomed by the City of Karratha, with local leaders saying the cost of <a class=\"css-445i33-StyledTextLink ezegcyi0\" data-link-type=\"article-inline\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.perthnow.com.au\/news\/aviation\/flight-qf-1613-qantas-plane-headed-for-perth-makes-emergency-landing-in-geraldton-after-technical-issue-c-17344936\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">flying<\/a> in and out of the Pilbara is putting pressure on families and workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Karratha mayor Daniel Scott said the collaboration came at a critical time, with both a Productivity Commission inquiry into regional airfares and a Senate inquiry into the aviation sector now underway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cAffordable and reliable air travel is not a luxury for our community \u2014 it is essential,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">The cost of flights between Karratha and Perth has long been a sore point for residents and FIFO workers, who rely on travel to maintain work rosters, access services and stay connected to family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">The WA Government\u2019s Regional Airfare Zone Cap scheme limits the maximum one-way fare eligible residents can pay on flights to and from Perth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Depending on distance and demand, capped fare range from under $200 to just under $400 one way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">While the extension of the capped fares program has been welcomed, mayor Scott said affordability remained a major concern.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cFlying to and from Karratha remains too expensive, impacting livability, workforce attraction and connectivity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cOur residents were clear in the annual community survey. Airfares are already too expensive for families to travel to Perth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cThe recent increase to the capped price and ongoing high demand costs show airfares are still placing pressure on our community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">The City will support submissions to both federal inquiries, arguing the Pilbara\u2019s heavy reliance on air travel \u2014 including by the resource sector \u2014 makes reform urgent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Karratha is also continuing to push for international status for its airport, arguing direct overseas connections would boost trade, investment and workforce mobility in the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cThere is a strong national economic case for international status at Karratha Airport,\u201d mayor Scott said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">The federal inquiries are expected to examine competition, pricing transparency and long term sustainability of regional aviation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">The City of Karratha has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A renewed national push to drive down regional airfares has been welcomed by the City of Karratha, with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99,1625,3792,45],"class_list":["post-506961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-lifestyle","tag-travel","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}