Spat halts airport bus

Standoff at Avalon leaves passengers without a ride

TRAVELLERS flying out of Avalon Airport have been left with one less door-to-door transfer option after news a long-running shuttle service has ceased operation.

In a statement on behalf of Murrell Group, Tim Murrell advised customers the Avalon Airport Shuttle, which meets every flight, would end today.

“We received notice last week that Avalon Airport has declined to extend our access agreement leaving us unable to operate out of the airport,” he said.

“We have operated out of, and supported, Avalon con- tinuously since its inception in 2004 and are very disappointed at the decision the airport has made.”

Mr Murrell thanked patrons on the Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast for their support and apologised for the inconvenience.

“All “prepaid” bookings have been immediately refunded,” he said. “While we understand the frustrations of customers this is unfortunately out of our hands.”

Avalon Airport chief executive Justin Giddings said the shuttle operators approached him about a long-term agreement but he was unable to commit as management was currently reviewing all trans- port options to and from the airport.

“It wasn’t our decision actually, it was theirs. They gave us notice this morning that they were withdrawing on a day’s notice,” he said.

Mr Giddings acknowledged the timing was unfortunate given it was school holidays but said management was confident of securing another supplier and updates would be forthcoming.

“We’re working to get a replacement operator as soon as we can. Hopefully we can get a solution that works for everybody going forward.”

Affected passengers are advised to call airport management on 5227 9100.