More Frustration for Gladstone Airport Travellers as Flights Still Run Late

The Gladstone Observer newspaper reports that February was another frustrating month for airline passengers in and out of Gladstone, with more than a quarter of all flights delayed.

The Brisbane to Gladstone route had 27.7% of all flights arrive late, and 3.1% of all flights cancelled in the month, while flying from Gladstone to Brisbane, passengers suffered a whopping 30.7% of departures being delayed, with 3.7% of all flights scheduled to leave Gladstone not getting off the ground.

But Gladstone Airport has scrambled off the black list, after being listed as one of the worst-performing routes in January because of storms.

Meanwhile, the Brisbane to Gladstone route is among the busiest in the country, ranking 30th for number of passengers travelling last year.

A whopping 411,600 people made the journey from Brisbane to Gladstone in 2012, nearly double the 2011 number.  And the number of planes flying the route also skyrocketed, with 7857 aircraft taking to the sky, compare with around 4000 in 2011.

However, the increased traffic meant planes were flying with less passengers.  While planes flying Brisbane to Gladstone flew at an average of 74% capacity in 2011, they were only at 67% of capacity in 2012.