Essendon Airport. Picture: Fairfax Photographic
A 17-SEAT propeller plane is sitting on a tarmac in Melbourne, waiting for the final nod to carry passengers to Griffith.
It has been more than eight months since Regional Express (Rex) flights stopped travelling between the two cities, forcing locals to access Melbourne by road.
A new carrier has committed to taking on the route and is in the process of gaining official clearance to take off.
The frontman for the airline checked in with council on Friday via teleconference to deliver an update on proceedings.
He discussed the proposed flight timetable with mayor John Dal Broi and Griffith Business Chamber president Paul Pierotti and will lodge it with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) this week.
The meeting was part of an agreement the spokesman made with council two weeks ago, after Cr Dal Broi revealed he had started to lose faith in the airline.
The mayor said the update had given him confidence the service would get off the ground soon.
"I am more optimistic now than I have been for quite a while," Cr Dal Broi said.
"The latest information we have is that there will be direct flights between here and Melbourne twice a day.
"Council has offered all the encouragement we can and if there's anything we need to do to expedite this service, we will do it."
Flights from Griffith to Melbourne are expected to take 45 minutes and land at Essendon Airport.
Transport will be arranged for passengers needing to access Tullamarine Airport for connecting flights and a bus will take travellers to three drop-off points in the city.
"The important thing for us is that there will be flights and they will allow people to go up and back in one day," Cr Dal Broi said.
"We don't know how long it will be before the flights leave the ground but it is clear that the airline is working desperately to make it happen as soon as possible."