According to the Clarence Valley Regional Airport master plan, it costs an average of $554,000 a year (over a 10-year period) to provide the service.

As an asset of Clarence Valley Council (CVC), it is valued at $4.394million and has required maintenance costing $158k, $102k and $379k over the financial years ending 2019, 2018, 2017, respectively.

At the March 2020 CVC meeting, councillors were advised that “in 2018/19 the income received from Rex was $140,157.09, being an average of $11,679.75 per month and, currently, for this financial year, we have received $83,423.00 or an average of $10,427.88 a month [up until] to January 2020 – this rate will probably drop as the next couple of months unfold and the pandemic worsens”.

The bottom line over recent years: there were net losses of $240,419 (2018/19), $320,113 (2017/18, including a $100,000 contract to engage an airport manager) and $227,308 (2016/17).

The net loss for the 2019/20 year was $279,954 and the 2020/21 budget flags $365,058 loss.

These figures do not include depreciation.

Annual passenger numbers have fluctuated over the past three years, with numbers of 18,026 (2017/18), 19,237 (2018/19) and 13,558 (2019/20).

If it weren’t for the pandemic intervening, the numbers for the 2019/20 financial year were on track to match the previous year’s, with 9,968 passengers using the service by the end of December.

Figures dropped from 1,340 in February to 974in March, 33 in April, 171 in May and 301 in June.

Rex has previously stated it requires 30,000 passengers, annually, to consider establishing a direct service to and from Sydney instead of the current and previous triangulated services (Lismore currently shares the route with Clarence Valley).

Meanwhile, ascertaining who uses the service on a regular basis is not so simple.

The council’s general manager, Ashley Lindsay, said he didn’t “have this information” when asked by a Lower Clarence resident; what is: the proportion passengers who use the service to access medical services; the breakdown of postcodes for local people using the service; and, what are the reasons for travel?

In 2014, CVC made a submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into regional aviation services.

The submission pointed out that, “based on the 2011/12 passenger numbers (16,624) and assuming 50 to 70 per cent of passengers would not have come to the Clarence Valley without the passenger service, the impact on the economy is between $8.9m and $12.5m, with additional wages adding another $1.8m to $2.m, adding around another 60-80 jobs to the economy”.

These figures were also used by the council in its successful bid for $1million in Regional Development Australia funding, combined with a NSW $1million loan, which was used to redevelop the airport.

At that time, Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis said he’d “like to see all public servants who work in the Clarence Valley patronise Grafton Airport … especially when their fares are paid by the NSW Government”.

“Maintaining an air service into Grafton is vital for our economy and the public service that operates within the Clarence Valley, as well as providing benefits to the medical profession, the judiciary and the public at large,” he said.

Mr Gulaptis met with the Deputy Premier and requested an edict be considered within government departments, requiring all NSW public servants to utilise the air services within the community in which they work.

“I think that if you are a public servant in Grafton, deriving your livelihood from the community, then it’s only fair and reasonable that you pay that community back by utilising its services, including its air service,” Mr Gulaptis said.

This week, Mr Gulaptis reiterated those sentiments; however, establishing the edict did not happen.

And, while neither Mr Gulaptis not CVC’s general manger were able to provide a breakdown of the airport’s customers, Mr Gulaptis said the NSW Government “spends a fortune on airfares and there are no discounts because they often have to change their flight, so they need a refundable ticket”.

“It’s important when the government pays airfares, to take advantage of that,” he said.

However, on how many public servants “fly in from Sydney for a meeting in Grafton” he said, “I really can’t answer which airport they choose

“It depends on the appointment and the day – if it’s the legal profession and they have court in Grafton, it makes sense to fly into Grafton, it’s only a 10-minute drive.

Thirteen years of flying with Rex: www.clarencevalleynews.com.au/thirteen-years-of-flying-with-rex