Qantas, Virgin Australia and Rex are charged $33.16 a passenger to land in and leave Mount Isa, which includes common user charges, passenger and bag screening. Planes are charged a further $7.75 a tonne to land, and $7.75 a tonne to park the day. 

The airport’s chief operating officer Kevin Gill said the infrastructure’s costs are recovered through the ‘per passenger charge’. He acknowledged it was incorporated in the cost of an airline ticket. Queensland Airports Limited owns the Mount Isa Airport. It also owns Longreach, Townsville and the Gold Coast airports. 

Its Townsville Airport charges airlines $15.04 a domestic passenger to land and leave. International passengers are charged a total $12.89. Fixed wing aircraft are also charged a further $12.37 a tonne in landing fees, and $6.18 a tonne for daily parking. 

The Gold Coast Airport charges airlines $12.82 a domestic passenger to land and leave. Taxes include terminal use, security, baggage infrastructure. Departing passengers were charged an extra 27 cents. No landing or parking fees were supplied in the airport charges. Airlines were charged $16.35 an international passenger, not including the 27 cents for those departing. 

The shire council owned Cloncurry Airport charge airlines a total $36.10 a passenger. Charter flights are charged $47 a passenger. 

Aircraft that weigh more than two tonne are charged $12.80 a tonne in landing fees. Cloncurry Shire mayor Greg Campbell said the airport was a “well run business group of the council”, which generated $800,000 the previous financial year.

Cloncurry residents could pay around $1 a kilometre to fly to Townsville through their airfares.

The mayor said he believed airport charges did not have a huge bearing on the airline ticket price.

“I reckon there’s still a big gap of what our fees and charges are, and what the final price is,” he said.