The final public hearing of a senate inquiry into flight services to rural queensland begins today in Cloncurry.
The inquiry, conducted by the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee, has surveyed the operations, regulation and funding of air route service delivery to rural and remote communities and hopes that its findings will lead to reduced costs for commercial airline flights to and from these areas.
Many citizens of remote communities report spending thousands of dollars on single airline tickets to urban centres to visit family and friends and many regional councils said that they have trouble covering the costs of airstrip maintenance.