At the 28 May Council meeting, the Shellharbour Airport Master Plan was adopted by Council.

During the Public Exhibition period, we received a significant amount of community feedback, with the majority of the feedback supportive of the Master Plan and the Airport's potential to operate larger aircraft.

What happens next?

Following the support we received during the Public Exhibition period, we're going to look more closely at the possibility of expanding airline operations at Shellharbour Airport.

Council officers will start working on a detailed safety and business case to understand the costs, benefits and chances of success for expanding the Airport's use. This is a thorough process and is expected to take us up to 2 years.

The safety and business case will involve:

• Talking with potential airline operators to better understand their needs and ability to operate from Shellharbour Airport.
• Working with regulatory bodies such as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Airservices, and the Department of Home Affairs.
• Modelling and analysis on important factors such as aircraft noise, flight paths, take-off and landing procedures and environmental impacts.
• Ongoing community and stakeholder engagement.