Foreign airlines could soon fly domestic routes to and from Darwin, but would it reduce prices?

Australia Broadcast Center

23-04-2025

Booking a return flight from Darwin can cost upwards of $1,000.
And that's for flights that depart and arrive around midnight or the early morning hours.
It's little wonder airfares are a key issue in the Northern Territory this election campaign.
Candidates in the Darwin-based seat of Solomon are all promising to push for lower prices as a cost-of-living measure.
The Coalition has now announced if elected it would change laws to allow international airlines to carry domestic passengers to and from Darwin and the east coast.
But would the policy be effective?
Return airfares from Darwin regularly cost more than $1,000.
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Facebook: Darwin International Airport
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What is being promised?
The Coalition has promised to implement a two-year trial allowing international airlines to fly between Darwin and east coast capital cities, if it wins government.
Currently, federal laws restrict foreign carriers from flying domestic routes.
The Coalition said it would remove the "outdated" laws which it said had "kept Darwin airfares high and restricted services".
The changes would allow airlines to stop over in Darwin while on an international route, enabling them to pick up and drop off passengers.
Under the proposed changes, airlines would be able to pick up and drop off passengers in Darwin, while on an international route.
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Are foreign airlines interested?
Current Member for Solomon Luke Gosling has previously
The Labor MP said Darwin could become "a pilot location" for cabotage, but there was
A Labor spokesperson said the federal government's Aviation White Paper "already commits us to opening up domestic routes to international carriers on a case-by-case basis".
"We will consider requests by airlines when demand is there," they said.
Luke Gosling says there is no demand for cabotage.
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Asked repeatedly whether the Coalition had spoken to international carriers before announcing its policy, Shadow Minister for Transport Bridget McKenzie didn't provide a direct answer.
"Once we actually open that opportunity for international airlines, then there will be a demand because we know even the Darwin-Brisbane flight, that's at nearly 88 per cent capacity," she told ABC Radio Darwin on Wednesday.
"Airlines are interested where there is demand, where they can actually make money.
"That's why we're putting it on the table to trial it here for two years and give that opportunity to international carriers, such as [those in] the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore."
Bridget McKenzie Asian airlines could be interested in flying Australian domestic routes.
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Neil Hansford, an international aviation consultant, says airlines aren't interested in Darwin stopovers on international routes.
"There's no incentive for them to do it because they've got all the traffic rights they need to, to fly directly to the major markets of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne," he said.
"The consumer doesn't want intermediate stops.
"This is going against the trend of Australians who want to fly direct with no stops."
Neil Hansford says international airlines aren't interested in Darwin stopovers.
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Are Darwin airport fees a turn-off for airlines?
The
Virgin has claimed the fees
ADG has
Nevertheless, Mr Hansford says the fees are another reason international airlines may not take interest in the Coalition's proposed changes.
"Currently the high cost of using our airports is what drives the prices," he says.