Community & Business
23 January, 2023
How Well Do You Know Wellcamp?
The Sentinel visited Wellcamp Airport recently for an update on some recent activity and the new additions and offerings we can expect in 2023.
Many Pittsworth and Millmerran folk will be familiar with Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, plenty are regulars, including FIFO workers. But beyond all the regular passenger flights there are some fairly impressive feats being carried out on a regular basis - right here on the Darling Downs. There’s always a lot happening at Wellcamp and no two days are the same as business development manager Jonny Arkins can attest. He’s tasked with handling some whopper jobs and tackles many an unexpected challenge in the role, like figuring out how to get 50 tonnes of beef patties on a flight to South Africa where there had been a major coldroom malfunction. Another 16,000 tonnes of chicken nuggets went out on the same flight. But Mr Arkins is used to big numbers. It’s pretty standard to see 50 tonnes of Queensland watermelons go out on the weekly Cathay Pacific freight flight to China, and perhaps 14 tonnes of mangoes and 19 tonnes of local pork. The 117-tonne cargo typically comprises around 60 per cent local beef. Live mudcrabs destined for Hong Kong restaurants might be on board, along with Stanthorpe strawberries, Mulgowie corn, local lettuces and Gayndah oranges. The airport is also home to the Qantas Group Pilot Academy so small planes can be seen taking to the skies every couple of minutes on most fine days. At the terminal itself, there are some new developments in the pipeline, one being the addition this week of a Helloworld Travel outlet.
See the full story in the 19th January edition of The Pittsworth Sentinel.
