Port Macquarie Airport is located 5km’s from Port Macquarie CBD and is owned and operated by Port Macquarie-Hastings City Council. The airport handles close to 170,000 passengers and over 30,000 aircrafts per year. It is situated approximately halfway between Sydney and Brisbane and a forecasted growth in passenger numbers lead to the introduction of a $12 million development plan that will involve a runway extension, a new departure lounge and resurfacing of the runway and taxiway. Both QantasLink and Virgin Blue have flights going to Port Macquarie, but only smaller jets with 70-80 seats can be handled by the airport. The city is also a popular tourist destination and during peak-season the city’s population grows significantly to around 39,000 people.