FLIGHTS between Newcastle Airport and Lord Howe Island will begin next month in the second deal for a regional airline to fly from the Hunter hub announced this week.
Port Macquarie's Eastern Air Services will begin flights from November 14 under a new agreement revealed on Thursday.
The direct service will run on 10-seater Beechcraft B200 aircraft to the island, which falls within the NSW jurisdiction.
It comes days after a Canberra-based airline announced it would begin regular services between Williamtown and the ACT in the coming weeks.
Newcastle Airport chief executive Dr Peter Cock said growing optimism had emerged in the aviation industry.
"With domestic borders starting to open, I think we'll see strong demand for leisure travel within Australia in the coming weeks," Dr Cock said.
"We know our customers are keen to fly and with international travel still some way off, we feel the people of our region deserve a range of exciting and unique holiday options. The eco-tourism experience at this World Heritage island certainly fits that category."
"Importantly, an opportunity also exists for our region to provide direct support to Lord Howe Island residents, acting as the key service centre for the Island providing medical, retail, and other services to the population."
Eastern Air Services chief executive Christian Corse said it was an exciting opportunity.
"Lord Howe Island is incredibly popular with the people of the Central Coast, Hunter and Mid North Coast, so we expect this service to grow quickly," he said.
The two-hour flights will run once a week, on Saturdays, but are expected to operate more often in the summer months and if demand increases.
