Newcastle Airport could support daily flights to New Zealand and southeast Asia, new data has revealed, and the government is being called upon to provide $15 million to secure the new routes.
The Tourism Research Australia data showed there is also enough demand from the Newcastle Airport catchment for three Perth flights a day, two flights a day to Singapore and regular flights to the Pacific.
In its pre-budget submission, Business Hunter lobbied the NSW government for an aviation fund of $15 million over three years
Newcastle Airport chief executive Peter Cock said the airport would match the state government's funding dollar for dollar, which could help cover the airline costs of establishing a new route, such as relocating staff and planes or advertise the new destination.
"Getting airline flights is a very competitive business," Dr Cock said.
"It can take years to get a new route established. But once you do, gee the rewards are amazing."
The daily flights to New Zealand could be made possible by the number of people travelling internationally on flights that use the country for "hubbing", which is flying overseas through another airport.
A report prepared by Newcastle Airport found there was enough hubbing travel to Asia, the United Kingdom and Europe to support at least two daily flights to Singapore.
"Other hub destinations could include places like Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok, Middle East airports such as Dubai or Doha connecting on to Europe, or Pacific airports such as Auckland or Nadi (Fiji) with their connections to US and Canada," the report stated.
Dr Cock said "astonishingly" two-thirds of the region's travellers flew out of Sydney, often due to the direct international connectivity.
The "leakage" of international travellers was one of the main motivations behind the $110-million expansion of Newcastle Airport, which includes upgrading the runway to international standards.
"We know the demand locally is good, but we don't have the airport facilities right now," Dr Cock said.
While the international routes hinge on the competition of the airport's upgrade, Dr Cock says the Perth route could be acted upon immediately.
"Perth is a big population centre that's really important and critical to our community that we're not connected to," he said.
"Obviously there is tourism. Beyond that, there will always be miners in the Hunter and Perth, and even after the energy transition, some of them will want to keep mining. We can help them get there directly."
Business Hunter also called on the state government to contribute $6 million toward establishing an airline base to allow planes to start and finish their day at Newcastle Airport.
Jetstar used to base aircraft in Newcastle, however the airline moved its planes to Melbourne. Each aircraft requires a staff of about 40 people, and basing aircraft at an airport improves flight reliability and increases the early morning and late evening flight slots.
The airport and Business Hunter have also lobbied the government for a further $27 million to establish a regional international air cargo terminal.
Business Hunter chief executive Bob Hawes said investing in Newcastle Airport made "enormous sense", and the cargo terminal was the key "missing link" in unlocking the region's economic potential.
"Airport funding is an economic multiplier and there would be a tremendous flow-on effect," Mr Hawes said.
"Airlines move both goods and people, and the belly of those aircraft have enormous capacity. A cargo terminal would benefit plenty of businesses in Newcastle and deeper in the Hunter Valley."
The Business Hunter pre-budget submission acknowledged public transport to the airport had to improve and requested the immediate implementation of a rapid bus network.
"Although Newcastle Airport is fighting to win a bigger share of passengers within its catchment, insufficient public transport links are contributing to leakage of passengers to nearby Sydney," the submission stated.
