Cairns Airport (IATA: CNS, ICAO: YBCS) is an international airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Formerly operated by the Cairns Port Authority, the airport was sold by the Queensland Government in December 2008 to a private consortium. It is the seventh busiest airport in Australia. The airport is located 2.3 nautical miles (4.3 km; 2.6 mi) north northwest[1] of Cairns or 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the Cairns central business district, in the suburb of Aeroglen. The airport lies between Mount Whitfield to the west and Trinity Bay to the east.
The airport has direct flights to 18 international and 30 domestic destinations and many general aviation flights including a number of helicopter operators. Flights are operated to all major Australian cities and tourist destinations, regional communities in Far North Queensland, and a number of international destinations in the Asia-Pacific region with connections to the rest of the world. The airport formed the main base for Australian Airlines prior to its ceasing of operations in June 2006 (the airport remains a major port for parent company Qantas). It is also a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia and the search and rescue helicopters of the State Emergency Service. In the 12 months ending 30 June 2013 Cairns Airport had 4.1 million passengers, up 263,532 from the previous year.[3]
History
Cairns Airport goes back to 1928 when Tom McDonald started flying his de Havilland Gipsy Moth off a sand ridge near the present airport. He could only land and take off between high tides. During one emergency, Tom was forced to take off from beer barrels.
During World War II the Australian Government bought the airport for use by the Royal Australian Air Force. In 1943, the main runway was hard surfaced and legthened to handle military aircraft. It was also used by the United States Army Air Forces as a transport base, with the 33d Troop Carrier Squadron (374th Troop Carrier Group) operating from the base during 1942. In 1949, the main runway was lengthened to 1,730 m (5,680 ft) to accommodate larger aircraft. During the mid-1960s, the airport was upgraded and the runway further lengthened to 2,020 m (6,630 ft) and strengthened so jets could land.
During the 1970s, Australia's two domestic airlines Trans Australia Airlines and Ansett provided regular scheduled services to most Australian capital cities and also Papua New Guinea, while in 1975 Air Niugini became the first international airline to commence flights out of Cairns, to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. In 1982, redevelopment of the airport commenced. This involved further lengthening of the runway to 2,600 m (8,500 ft) (making it the longest runway in Queensland) and construction of a new terminal building. The first stage of the redovelopment was finished in 1984 and a dual International and Domestic Terminal was opened. At the end of the decade the second stage of redevelopment was completed. This included a new separate International Terminal, associated aprons and taxiways, costing an estimated $80 million. The main runway was again extended, to 3,196 m (10,486 ft). In 1997, the third stage of redevelopment was completed, during which a three-storey Airport Administration Centre was constructed providing 4,000 m2 (43,000 sq ft) of office space.[4]
A$200 million redevelopment of the Domestic terminal started in August 2007 and was completed in 2010.[5] Check-in facilities were expanded into a common-user facility for all airlines, and the building enlarged. Five new jet bridges replaced the existing three old bridges. In January 2010, Auckland International Airport Limited announced that it had purchased 24.6 per cent of North Queensland Airports (NQA), operator of the airports at Cairns and Mackay, for about $132 million.[6]
Operations
| Cairns Airport statistics[20] | |
|---|---|
| Year[21] | Total passengers |
| 2010–11 | 3,859,339 |
| 2009–10 | 3,550,240 |
| 2008–09 | 3,653,544 |
| 2007–08 | 3,777,154 |
| 2006–07 | 3,782,183 |
| 2005–06 | 3,731,178 |
| 1999–2000 | 2,718,378 |
| 1994–95 | 2,418,847 |
| 1989–90 | 840,392 |
| 1985–86 | 578,294 |
| Rank | Airport | Number of Passengers | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01 !Queensland, Brisbane | 1,256,100 |  04 !4.7 |
| 2 | 03 !New South Wales, Sydney | 1,000,900 | 03 !2.3 |
| 3 | 02 !Victoria, Melbourne | 713,200 | 01 !5.3 |
| Rank | Airport | Passengers handled | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 07 !Japan, Tokyo-Narita | 148,878 | 06 !1.1 |
| 2 | 04 !Japan, Osaka-Kansai | 98,936 | 01 !13.6 |
| 3 | 05 !Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby | 87,381 |  03 !14.8 |
| 4 | 03 !Hong Kong, Hong Kong | 57,143 | 05 !2.0 |
| 5 | 01 !New Zealand, Auckland | 39,081 | 02 !16.6 |
| 6 | 02 !Guam, Guam | 15,492 | 07 !6.0 |
| 7 | 02 !People's Republic of China, Shanghai | 10,045 | 07 !60.7 |
| 8 | 06 !Papua New Guinea, Rabaul | 3,606 | 04 !20.5 |
| 9 | 06 !Indonesia, Denpasar | 348 | 04 !74.2 |
| Rank | Airport | Freight handled | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03 !Hong Kong, Hong Kong | 2,728.3 | 05 !9.6 |
| 2 | 07 !Japan, Tokyo-Narita | 2,113.2 | 04 !3.1 |
| 3 | 04 !Japan, Osaka-Kansai | 643.4 | 01 !687.4 |
| 4 | 05 !Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby | 306.6 | 03 !6.4 |
| 5 | 01 !New Zealand, Auckland | 131.3 | 02 !7.5 |
| 6 | 02 !Guam, Guam | 19.2 | 06 !12.4 |
| 7 | 06 !Singapore, Singapore-Changi | 0.0 | 07 !100 |
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- ^ a b YBCS – CAIRNS/Cairns INTL (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 29 May 2014
- ^ "Airport traffic data". Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- ^ Dalton, Nick (26 July 2013). "Air passenger tally takes off in Cairns". The Cairns Post. Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ "History". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ "Redeveloping 5th Busiest Airport" (PDF). Australian National Construction Review. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ Howard, Rebecca (11 January 2010). "Auckland Airport buys stake in North Queensland Airports". The Australian. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ Cairns Airport terminal information retrieved 25 May 2011
- ^ "Air New Zealand Converts Auckland – Cairns to Seasonal Service in 2014". Airline Route. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ^ "Timetable". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ "China Eastern Suspends Cairns Service from late-Feb 2014". Airlineroute.net. 1 January 2014.
- ^ "China Southern arrives in Cairns". Australian Aviation. 31 January 2013.
- ^ "Cheap Flight Specials and Airfare Deals in Australia and Abroad - Jetstar Airlines Australia". Jetstar. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ "New Jetstar flights between Cairns and Osaka- Local Cairns News". cairns.com.au. 1 December 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "TWO MORE INTERNATIONAL LINKS WELCOMED". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ "Rex announces new Cape York route". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ "Tigerair focuses on Queensland". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ Tiger Airways gets green-light for more flights
- ^ http://www.tigerairways.com/news/TT_20130206_20130206.pdf
- ^ "UNITED Ends 2 Guam Routes from late-Sept 2015". Airlineroute.net. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
- ^ "Airport Traffic Data 1985–86 to 2010–11". Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012. Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"
- ^ a b Fiscal year 1 July – 30 June
- ^ "Domestic aviation activity 2014" (PDF). Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015. Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"
- ^ a b "International Airline Activity Annual Publications 13" (PDF). Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). June 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014. Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"
External links
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Details
- Visit: Website
- Hours: 3am until last flight
- Address: Airport Avenue, Cairns Airport, Cairns QLD 4870