QANTAS will expand its flights between Bendigo and Sydney later this year.
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QantasLink flights between the two cities started on March 31 and have been operating six days a week.
The new additions will mean there is a same-day return flight every day of the week.
From August 17, an extra flight will operate on Saturday evenings from Sydney to Bendigo, and another on Sunday mornings from Bendigo to Sydney.
QantasLink chief executive John Gissing said the additional flights were in response to a strong uptake of the service.
He said the new flights would offer people more choice.
"We're pleased to see the local community has really supported the launch of the new route," he said,.
"We'll continue to work with tourism and industry leaders to promote the flights to travellers from across Australia and around the world."
The additional flights, via a 50-seat Q300 turboprop aircraft, means an extra 100 seats would be available on the route each week.
Earlier this month, a Qantas spokesperson said passenger numbers for its Bendigo to Sydney flights had been consistently strong on Sundays and Mondays. Details of numbers for the rest of the week were not released.
At the time of the launch of the QantasLink flights between Bendigo and Sydney, members of the Bendigo business community welcomed the services.
But they also expressed a desire for Qantas to fly from Bendigo to other major cities like Adelaide and Brisbane.
A Qantas spokesperson said at this stage, they were only focused on improving the Bendigo to Sydney flights but would be open to assessing alternative routes in the future.
The spokesperson also said there were no developments on a possible Qantas Pilot Academy in Bendigo.
The city is one of seven destinations under consideration after Toowoomba was announced as the first site last year.
Bendigo MP Lisa Chesters said the extra flights was a good thing for the region.
She said it was further evidence the Bendigo Airport terminal needed to be upgraded to cope with future growth.
Bendigo council hopes to receive $4.5 million from a replenished Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund to redevelop the terminal.
City of Greater Bendigo chief executive Craig Niemann said on Wednesday council hoped the fund would be topped up in Monday's state budget.
The state's peak tourism body, Victoria Tourism Industry, has called on the government to fund the airport terminal in the 2019 budget, which would help Qantas expand flights and help the building meet aviation and safety standards.
The project would help the Bendigo tourism industry bring more people to the region and create 53 jobs once operational.
Ms Chesters said the airport's existing terminal building had limited capacity and was unable to provide mandated aviation security environment for aircraft with more than 30 passengers.
An expanded passenger terminal could help Bendigo provide larger services to capital cities.
"This project is would be a good boost for the Bendigo economy and local infrastructure," Ms Chesters said.
Mr Niemann said the announcement was another exciting step for the city's partnership with Qantas.
"Since launching on March 31, the service has been really well supported by residents and the business community, so the decision by Qantas to add extra services is very pleasing and demonstrates great confidence in our local and regional market," he said.
"Our region's positive response and strong passenger numbers have shown there is a need for additional flights, so to be able to influence the delivery of a true seven-day-a-week service is fantastic.
"The City thanks the community and wider region for its ongoing support, as well as the Qantas team for its continued collaboration and delivery of an outstanding service."
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