"Greedy" airline operators should reduce airfares to and from Dubbo, according to mayor of the Dubbo Region Ben Shields.
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He said expensive flights were "inhibiting the growth" of the city.
Cr Shields has welcomed a call by a Senate standing committee for the Productivity Commission to look at airfares following a review of transport in the bush.
The committee received "overwhelming evidence" that the high price of airfares had a "direct and detrimental" effect on the lives of country people.
It found they reduced opportunities to attend the likes of family events, medical appointments, sporting events and explore business opportunities.
But the committee also acknowledged evidence by airlines which suggested lower passenger numbers in the bush led to higher airfares and the possibility of routes becoming commercially untenable if reduced airfares did not cover fixed operational costs.
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Cr Shields wants to see more people moving through Dubbo City Regional Airport.
"I desperately want to see airfares for flights to and from Dubbo to come down," he said.
"I am constantly hearing stories from people who want to fly to Sydney, or Brisbane or Newcastle but they find it is so much cheaper to drive.
"That is a problem that these greedy airline operators need to work out quickly."
The mayor said Dubbo Regional Council had played its part in the establishment of flights between Dubbo and Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Newcastle, Canberra and regional communities.
"However that counts for nothing if people can't afford to use them," he said.
"Our residents are frustrated when they see $75 flights from Sydney to Brisbane while they are paying hundreds of dollars.
"Even Orange and Parkes receive discounted flights for $100.
"That is something Dubbo people can only dream of."
Cr Shields has defended the $1.60 increase in passenger tax imposed on airlines using Dubbo's airport as necessary to cover a more than $1 million-a-year rise in "maintenance and costs" resulting from infrastructure growth.
He has also lashed out at talk of high-speed rail.
"Aviation is the best option for a country the size of Australia and we need to be focusing on making it affordable and accessible for as much of the population as possible rather than looking at investing billions of dollars into transport white elephants," Cr Shields said.