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Australia's first privately-built airport has announced weekly international freight flights will begin next month.
Cathay Pacific will operate the jumbo service between Toowoomba's Wellcamp Airport, 120km west of Brisbane, and Hong Kong.
The freight-only service is scheduled to begin on November 22 2016.
Airport developer and co-owner John Wagner said the service was a tremendous opportunity for the region's agricultural sector, and would see chilled beef and other perishables flown direct from local producers to customers in Asia.
(This further strengthens long term investment property opportunities in Toowoomba as it takes another step forward in employment and population growth - See examples of Investment Property to benefit from the continuing commercial growth of WellCamp Airport)
"This really is the culmination of two years of very hard work to convince an airline to run out of a regional centre in Australia," Mr Wagner said.
"I think what Cathay really worked out after that initial trial flight was that the market is here and the people of this region are proactive and are prepared to look outside the square in order to get their produce off to Asia, where half the world's population lives," Mr Wagner said.
"Initially for this first service, it'll probably be about 35 to 40 jobs direct at the airport, but the flow-on effect is mind-blowing and what people don't really understand is what this means for our region, both from a jobs perspective and from the perspective of economic prosperity and confidence," he said.
Full story - Source ABC News