Alice Springs Airport
| Alice Springs Airport | |||
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IATA: ASP – ICAO: YBAS
 ASP
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Northern Territory Airports Pty Ltd | ||
| Operator | Alice Springs Airport Pty Ltd | ||
| Serves | Alice Springs, Northern Territory | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,789 ft / 545 m | ||
| Coordinates | 23°48.4′S 133°54.1′E / 23.8067°S 133.9017°E | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 12/30 | 2,438 | 7,998 | Asphalt |
| 17/35 | 1,133 | 3,717 | Asphalt |
| Source: Enroute Supplement Australia[1] | |||
Alice Springs Airport (IATA: ASP, ICAO: YBAS) is a small regional airport 14 kilometres south of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.
The airport has two runways, the largest of which can accommodate a Boeing 747 or 777 landing (but not a fully laden takeoff due to high temperatures and the runway length). The only scheduled flights using the airport are domestic, although international charters do use the airport on occasions. The airport is not subject to a curfew and operates 24 hours a day.
In the year ending 30 June 2009, the airport handled 674,215 passengers making it the 17th busiest airport in Australia.[2] The facility is also extensively used to launch stratospheric research balloons; the runways used for a balloon launch are closed for aircraft traffic during the balloon launch process.[3]
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[edit] History
On 5 October 1921 the first aircraft landed at the original airport located in the Alice Springs township. Connellan Airways (later to become Connair) was based there from 1939. The military buildup in the north of Australia in the late 1930s saw the need for an airport that could take larger and heavier aircraft. This led to the construction of Seven Mile Aerodrome and the diminished role of the Town Site Drome from 1946 until its eventual abandonment in 1968. It is now the site of the Central Australian Aviation Museum.
Seven Mile Aerodrome was originally built in 1940 by the Australian Department of Defence and was used primarily by the Royal Australian Air Force and the United States Air Force, to bring troops and supplies into the area. The airport became the main transit base for RAAF transport planes during World War II. Several civilian aircraft were permitted at the airport, but during the war its primary purpose was military as a refuelling and staging facility, as the airport was strategically located near the Pacific Theater of Operations. No. 57 Operational Base Unit (RAAF) ran and maintained the aerodrome.
In 1958 it officially became Alice Springs Airport. The main runway was extended to its present length of 2,438 metres in 1961.
[edit] Units based at Seven Mile Aerodrome
- No. 57 Operational Base Unit RAAF ran and maintained the aerodrome during World War II.
- No. 87 Squadron RAAF was based at the aerodrome for a period of time to undertake aerial topographic survey work during World War II.
[edit] Today
During 2005–06 a total of 607,000 domestic passengers passed through Alice Springs Airport.[4]
During the 2006–07 period there was a total of 628,000 domestic passengers.
| Year | Total Passengers | Domestic |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 520,000 | 520,000 |
| 2002–03 | 570,000 | 570,000 |
| 2003–04 | 603,000 | 603,000 |
| 2004–05 | 603,000 | 603,000 |
| 2005–06 | 607,000 | 607,000 |
| 2006–07 | 628,000 | 628,000 |
| 2007–08 | 630,000 | 630,000 |
[edit] 1972 hijacking
Alice Springs Airport was the site of the resolution of Australia's first domestic aircraft hijacking. On 15 November 1972, an Ansett Fokker F27 Friendship was hijacked after taking off from Adelaide Airport. The hijacker, Miloslav Hrabinec, threatened the pilot with a rifle and demanded to be given a parachute and flown to the desert. He was convinced to allow the plane to land at Alice Springs, where he engaged in a shoot-out with Northern Territory Police, critically wounding a police officer before shooting himself in the head.
[edit] 1977 suicide pilot
Tragedy struck the airport again on 5 January 1977, when a former employee of Connair, Colin Richard Forman,[5] flew a stolen aircraft into the Connair offices (formerly Connellan Airways) located at the airport, killing himself and three of the airline's employees.[6] A woman working in the offices suffered severe burns and died several days later.[7]
[edit] Privatization
On 1 April 1989 the Federal Airports Corporation (FAC) assumed control of the airport. On 10 June 1998, the Government of Australia granted a 50 year lease plus a 49 year option to Northern Territory Airports Pty Ltd. Northern Territory Airports is 100% owned by Airport Developments Group (which also operates Tennant Creek Airport). Northern Territory Airports Pty Ltd has 100% ownership of Alice Springs Airport Pty Ltd (along with the Darwin International Airport).
[edit] Aircraft Boneyard
On 27 May 2011 it was announced that Alice Springs Airport had been selected to be the first large-scale aircraft "boneyard" outside the United States, with the first aircraft for storage to arrive early in 2012.[8]
The facility is to be operated by Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage Ltd (APAS) which chose Alice Springs because its dry, arid climate is perfect for aircraft storage and preservation. The facility will store commercial aircraft not in use, as well as those planes that have been decommissioned from service and which will be stripped of parts to be re-cycled, such as engines, electronics and wiring.
[edit] Operations
[edit] Domestic
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3.5[edit] Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Ausjet Aviation | Charter: Government and Private Air Charter, Tennant Creek, Ayres Rock, Birdsville, Coober Pedy, Lake Eyre (Scenics available), Darwin, and any remote community. |
| Qantas | Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney |
| Qantas operated by QantasLink | Ayers Rock/Uluru, Cairns, Darwin, Perth |
| Tiger Airways Australia | Melbourne (Temporarily Suspended) |
[edit] Virgin Australia
It is speculated that Virgin Australia, which ceased operations to Sydney in November 2004 and to Adelaide in September 2005, may make a return to the red centre using its new Embraer E-Jets. As of February 2008, nothing has been confirmed with Virgin Australia having not made an official announcement regarding the return, however the carrier has announced direct daily services to and from nearby Ayers Rock Airport from August 2010.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ YBAS – ALICE SPRINGS (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 17 November 2011
- ^ "List of the busiest airports in Australia – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_airports_in_Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "Stratospheric balloon launch bases and sites: Australian Balloon Launch Station, Alice Spring, Australia". Stratocat.com.ar. http://stratocat.com.ar/bases/4e.htm. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "ADG Annual Report 2005/2006" (pdf). Northern Territory Airports. http://www.ntairports.com.au/sites/default/files/annualreport/ADG%20Annual%20Report%202005%2006.pdf. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ "Connellan air disaster survivor commemorates anniversary – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 January 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/05/2132222.htm. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "Stolen plane crashes". Ellensburg Daily Record. 5 January 1977. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v_8PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=O48DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4093,137953&dq=alice+springs+airport&hl=en.
- ^ "No inquest on Alice deaths". The Age. Australia. 11 March 1977. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cQgRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jJIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5755,2998769&dq=alice+springs+airport&hl=en.
- ^ "Australia gets first plane 'boneyard' outside US", WA Today, 27 May 2011. Copy available at http://www.watoday.com.au/travel/travel-news/australia-gets-first-plane-boneyard-outside-us-20110527-1f77f.html
- ^ a b "Domestic airline activity". Btre.gov.au. 17 September 2009. http://www.btre.gov.au/info.aspx?NodeId=101. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "Direct daily services to Uluru launched by Virgin Blue – Airline News". etravelblackboard.com. http://www.etravelblackboard.com/showarticle.asp?nav=2&id=102564. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- "Time Capsule: Hijack in Alice Springs". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22730070-5012694,00.html. Retrieved 25 December 2007.
- Bushmag:The Silent Grief of Alice Springs
[edit] External links
- Alice Springs Airport – Official Site
- Alice Springs Airport – Aviation History
- History of the stratospheric balloon launch base located in the Alice Spring airport and records of balloons launched there
- Airport information for YBAS at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
