The Tasmanian airport of Hobart International is set to enter the international market once infrastructural upgrades have been completed. In a bid to boost the island's profile, the state government has allocated the airfield USD20 million for terminal upgrades while the federal government has agreed to disburse USD30 million to extend the length of the airport's 2,251m-long primary runway, 12/30, to allow it to handle larger aircraft.
The ch-aviation airport database shows the only scheduled carriers to serve Hobart at present include Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith), Jetstar Airways (JQ, Melbourne Airport), Tigerair Australia (Melbourne Airport), and Virgin Australia International (VA, Brisbane International).
China's Xinhua news agency says the airport is looking to position itself as the preferred gateway to the Antarctic, rivalling existing services from New Zealand as well as from Melbourne Airport and Sydney Kingsford Smith locally. At present, Skytraders (SND, Sydney Kingsford Smith) operates a seasonal A319-100CJ service between Hobart and Wilkins Runway in the Antarctic. The route is considered domestic as the Wilkins is operated by Australia.
