The northern end of Western Australia is known for being remote, with travel between major towns often meaning a lengthy drive through baron environments. It takes five and a half hours, for example, to drive from the regional hub of Karratha to the mining town of Newman. This can become costly and driving these long distances does raise concerns for safety. Those wanting to fly have until now faced the time-consuming and ...
Read More
As war hero Captain Gordon “Skipper” Wilson landed his two-seat Avro 504K at Narromine in 1919 he would have had no conception of what would unfold there over the next century. Wilson was one of the first military pilots to engage in civil aviation after World War 1 and brought a taste of the new industry to the NSW regional town on 22 September as part of a tour promoting the ...
Read More
An attractive new name and a new revamp are breathing fresh life into one of the NSW south coast’s signature airports. Shellharbour Airport – previously known as Illawarra Regional Airport – has already made the commercial change to its new name. But on 7 November, it also becomes official with the UN-based International Civil Aviation Organization and Australian aviation authorities. The airport south of Sydney, which today is widely known as the ...
Read More
There’s something fishy going on at the Whitsunday Coast Airport and passengers are loving it. A giant 30,000-litre aquarium in the arrivals and departures lounge has become home to more than 100 reef fish. The 10-metre-long tank boast four tonnes of moulded coral with a unique heart-shaped rock forming the centre piece. The unique project, designed to showcase the region’s world-famous Great Barrier Reef attractions, aims to get visitors into holiday mode as ...
Read More
A senate committee report on regional airfares released last week uncovered the complexity that comes with delivering air services on a small scale. The frustration of regional residents was evident throughout the inquiry, as poor economies of scale have resulted in little competition between airlines, and less choice of when to fly and at what cost. Those same economies of scale are at the heart of the challenges faced by regional airports, ...
Read More
Emerald Airport is getting primed for a return to growth after the mining boom, with Central Highlands Regional Council (CHRC) embarking on a new program to meet community needs. The airport, an important gateway for the local resources and agricultural industries, is getting a major facelift that includes a $13 million runway and apron overlay project as well as a major makeover of its general aviation facilities. It caters for a variety ...
Read More
It was vacancies for not one but two jobs that drew Whyalla Airport Manager Operations Howard Aspey into the world of aviation. Whyalla City Council had posted vacancies for a caretaker and administrator at the local airport but could not get anyone to fill either position. Aspey, who had worked in a number of roles at the Council, raised his hand to do both. That was almost two decades ago and the new ...
Read More
Andrew Brodie is enjoying his new coastal lifestyle after moving from Brisbane to become the recently installed Chief Executive Officer of Sunshine Coast Airport. It was a big decision for Brodie to move from his role as a senior executive of a major capital city airport to run a regional airport, and one that he considered carefully. The decision was fuelled not by the lifestyle, although he finds that a big plus, ...
Read More
Newcastle Airport’s return to international travel after a 16-year hiatus has been hailed a success and talks are already underway for a repeat performance next summer. It has also lifted ambitious longer-term plans to garner support for upgrades to the runway Newcastle Airport shares with the RAAF so it can take bigger, long-range planes. The first summer season of Virgin Australia flights between Newcastle and Auckland ended after 13 weeks on 17 ...
Read More
You could still hear a tinge of disbelief in the voice of Townsville Airport chief operating officer Kevin Gill as he spoke over the phone. “These are pretty extraordinary times to be honest, ‘’ he told The Airport Professional. “In aviation, we’ve all seen natural events and disasters and managed those but, yeah, we were one of the flooded, our family, and it’s different when you’ve gone through it and when you ...
Read More