About

The Aviation Attraction Fund was created to accelerate NSW’s Road to Recovery, by building aviation capacity to the state through securing routes to drive significant economic and social benefits.

The fund was open to all domestic and international airlines servicing the state or planning to service the state.

The Aviation Attraction Fund included the following three streams:

Stream 1 - Sydney International Route Support
Targeted and new airlines operating international routes into Sydney were eligible to apply, with opportunities assessed based on Business Case and alignment to Fund criteria. All applications were required to be supported and jointly funded by Sydney Airport.

Stream 2 - Regional NSW Domestic and International Route Support
This was a contestable fund open to all international and domestic routes servicing NSW. Routes were assessed on the Business Case and alignment to Fund criteria. All applications for this stream were required to be supported and jointly funded by a regional NSW airport.

Stream 3 - NSW Contestable Fund
This was a contestable fund to supplement or fund opportunities that did not qualify for stream 1 or 2. All applications were assessed based on the Business Case and alignment to Destination NSW criteria. Airlines applying for funding in this stream were required to match funding (cash or value in kind), either directly from the airline or through the airline’s trade partners.

The Aviation Attraction Fund closed on 30 June 2023.

Funding streams

The NSW Aviation Attraction Fund was split into three streams:

1. Sydney International Route Support

Targeted and new airlines operating international routes into Sydney, with opportunities to be assessed based on Business Case and alignment to Fund criteria. All applications were required to be supported and jointly funded by Sydney Airport.

2. Regional NSW Domestic and International Route Support

This was a contestable fund open to all international and domestic routes servicing NSW. Routes were assessed on the Business Case and alignment to Fund criteria. All applications for this stream were required to be supported and jointly funded by a regional NSW airport.

3. NSW Contestable Fund

This was a contestable fund to supplement or fund opportunities that did not qualify for stream 1 or 2. All applications were assessed based on the Business Case and alignment to Destination NSW criteria. Airlines applying for funding in this stream were required to match funding (cash or value in kind), either directly from the airline or through the airline’s trade partners.

Funding activity

The Fund could be used for activity including*:

  • Route subsidies/incentives – Incentivise targeted airline routes (new and existing) to deliver extra services and passengers through offering support such as passenger service charge discounts.
  • Strategic marketing support and other demand-generation incentives
  • Establishment / re-establishment costs – for airlines to establish or re-establish a presence and operations in NSW by subsidies offered including office accommodation and relocation payments.

* NSW Government Funding to be allocated to route subsidies/incentives and strategic marketing support only.

Application requirements

Applicants were reequired to:

  • Submit a full business case addressing the evaluation criteria (see Destination NSW eligibility & evaluation key criteria, below).
  • Submit an application that was jointly supported by one of the airports and Destination NSW, or Destination NSW in its own right.
  • Submit an application within the period 31 January 2022 to 30 June 2023.
  • Be willing to enter an MoU with the involved entities (NSW Government, Airports) for a minimum of two years.

The Business Case was required to include:

  • NSW Government Requested Investment
  • Frequency of services (current and incremental)
  • Route(s) to be supported
  • Seats per service and aircraft type by incremental service
  • Estimated incremental passengers to be delivered on supported routes
  • % breakdown of origin of passengers on supported routes
  • % target service reliability average/completion rate on supported routes
  • % target load factor average on supported routes
  • Estimated tonnes of belly freight by category (commodity type), inbound and outbound
  • Direct jobs created/supported through NSW Government requested investment and industry within which job was created/supported (such as airline, freight, etc.)

Destination NSW eligibility & evaluation key criteria

An Aviation Attraction Fund proposed for approval was assessed against:

Strategic Alignment

  • Service a Destination NSW priority market (as per the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2030).
  • Demonstrate ability to influence additional capacity and frequency
  • Airline brand value to NSW.

Economic Impact

  • Capacity for the route to drive new expenditure to the State
  • A return-on-investment BCR exceeding 1:1 (to be calculated by Destination NSW).
  • Number of jobs created/supported.

Capacity and Viability

  • Demonstrate capacity and capability in operating the proposed service
  • Have the appropriate authorities, licences, insurances, and approvals as required to operate the service
  • Be financially solvent
  • Airlines must have IATA approval
  • Commence route within one year of contract execution.

General operating aspects of the fund

  • Any funds awarded under this program were publicly released as part of the Destination NSW Annual Report and other ad hoc reporting.
  • Agreements outlined milestones and payment timing.