The Age asked the Victorian government how much it would invest but did not receive a direct response by deadline on Sunday before the formal announcement on Monday.
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“Now arriving: more flights for Avalon and more jobs for Geelong,” Premier Jacinta Allan said in a statement.
Suss expected the return of international flights to add between 80 and 100 jobs, on top of contractors working on the expansion.
More than 2500 workers already commute to the broader precinct, where Avalon Airport has developed warehouse and distribution centres.
The new route 18 bus, to start in coming months, will stop at the industrial precinct as well as the airport terminals.
Wyndham and the broader outer south-western suburbs, where workers face longer-than-average commutes, are growing rapidly.
“I think one thing we’ve seen, particularly over the last few years, is really an acceleration of population growth in the Melbourne-Geelong corridor,” Suss said.
“I think now we’re getting to that tipping point of scale and size where the demand is there.”
Former treasurer Tim Pallas momentarily threatened to move plans for an airport rail link from Tullamarine to Avalon if a dispute over the station couldn’t be resolved. Tullamarine’s private operators last year settled on an above-ground station, with the owners, state and federal governments since agreeing to push ahead.
Suss conceded a rail connection to Avalon Airport wasn’t justified at the moment.
“But we’re only three kilometres directly between the Melbourne-Geelong rail line and Avalon itself, separated mostly by farmland. So it’s a very easy opportunity to provide connectivity.”
He hopes to one day emulate London’s Luton Airport, which has a light rail connection to a nearby train station.
“That’s something that Avalon can look to pursue in the years to come. Our view at the moment is [to] make it easier, more accessible for the community by providing that initial connection with bus connectivity, and then we’ll see what the future holds.”
Jetstar chief executive Stephanie Tully said the new routes would give Victorians more options.
“This investment will see thousands more customers fly through Melbourne’s second airport gateway, supporting the economic growth of Melbourne, Geelong, the Surf Coast and the Bellarine Peninsula.”
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