VIRGIN Australia has again shown its contempt for Coffs Coast commuters and air travellers.

Four months after ‘temporarily’ cutting the early morning shuttle service between Coffs Harbour and Sydney the airline has introduced additional services to and from Port Macquarie while virtually admitting it has no plans to reinstate morning flights between here and the state capital.

When Virgin Australia replaced our early morning service in March with a midday service a spokeswoman said it the change would only be temporary.

She said as soon as Virgin Australia took delivery of new ATR 72-500 aircraft, which are more fuel efficient on short haul flights, she expected the early morning service would be returned.

The carrier has now started started rolling out its fleet of 68 seat ATR aircraft but it seems they are going to new and not necessarily suspended routes.

Virgin has announced it will be using its new ATR aircraft from October on services between Gladstone and Brisbane, Port Macquarie and Brisbane, Port Macquarie and Sydney, and Canberra and Sydney.

Virgin spokeswoman Merren McArthur said Port Macquarie would now see three daily return flights: two between Sydney and one between Brisbane.

A media spokeswoman for the carrier said she knew of no plans to reintroduce the very popular early morning flight between Sydney and Coffs Harbour.

She said she could not comment on why Port Macquarie was getting additional services.