Campaign to bring back Dunedin-Brisbane flights takes off

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Benjamin Paterson.
Photo: Amber Paterson / supplied

A Dunedin boy is on a mission to get direct international flights taking off at Dunedin Airport again.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Virgin Australia flew direct weekly flights between Brisbane and Dunedin. The service has not been resumed since the border reopened.

Thirteen-year-old Benjamin Paterson has started a campaign to reinstate trans-Tasman flights at the airport, and said it has had a lot of support.

“So far we’ve set up this poll, and we’ve had 3100 people that have responded to us, and 97 percent of people are extremely or very interested, and we’ve had lots of positive comments.”

Benjamin Paterson.
Photo: Amber Paterson / supplied

Paterson said having direct international flights back would hugely benefit people in Dunedin.

“It saves a lot and money for people in Dunedin, because the nearest airport to us is Queenstown, and that’s like a three-and-a-half hour drive, so it would save a lot of time and money for people.”

Paterson said he loved planes and one day hoped to be a pilot.

Benjamin Paterson.
Photo: Amber Paterson / supplied

Dunedin Airport business development general manager Megan Crawford said the airport was continuing to engage with airlines and look for opportunities to reconnect Dunedin to Australia.

“We think it’s great to see Benjamin taking such a proactive approach in an effort to reconnect our region with Australia,” she said.

“We will certainly be sharing the commitment shown by Benjamin, with the airlines, as this demonstrates the community’s support for ensuring a direct service would be well frequented, if we were successful.”