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They have placed a 4.5 minute animated video of the planned finished product on their website.<ref>[http://www.canberraairport.com.au/air_newTerminal/images/NewTerminalAnimation.wmv Animated video], planned airport changes, Canberra Airport website. Retrieved on 2009-04-11.</ref>
They have placed a 4.5 minute animated video of the planned finished product on their website.<ref>[http://www.canberraairport.com.au/air_newTerminal/images/NewTerminalAnimation.wmv Animated video], planned airport changes, Canberra Airport website. Retrieved on 2009-04-11.</ref>


The project has been given the go ahead by Canberra International Airport owner Terry Snow, to start late 2009. It was approved by the Australian Government in February 2008. The new terminal will increase space by 65%. There will be 9 airbridges, a 4 level car park and an under-cover taxi rank.{{cn}} Space will be made for the future requirements of International flights.<ref>[http://www.canberraairport.com.au/air_newTerminal/new_terminal.cfm "The Air Volution"], Information about Canberra's (planned) new air terminal, Canberra Airport website. Retrieved on 2009-04-11.</ref>
The project has been given the go ahead by Canberra International Airport executive chairman Terry Snow, to start late 2009. It was approved by the Australian Government in February 2008. The new terminal will increase space by 65%. There will be 9 airbridges, a 4 level car park and an under-cover taxi rank.{{cn}} Space will be made for the future requirements of International flights.<ref>[http://www.canberraairport.com.au/air_newTerminal/new_terminal.cfm "The Air Volution"], Information about Canberra's (planned) new air terminal, Canberra Airport website. Retrieved on 2009-04-11.</ref>


==Statistics==
==Statistics==

Revision as of 03:06, 12 April 2009

Canberra International Airport
Land side of the main terminal building
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorCapital Airport Group Pty Ltd[1]
ServesCanberra
Elevation AMSL1,888 ft / 575 m
Coordinates35°18′25″S 149°11′42″E / 35.30694°S 149.19500°E / -35.30694; 149.19500
Websitewww.canberraairport.com.au
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
17/35 3,273 10,738 Asphalt
12/30 1,679 5,509 Asphalt

Canberra International Airport (also known as Canberra Airport) (IATA: CBR, ICAO: YSCB) is the airport serving Australia's national capital, Canberra. Although there are no current international flight services, Air Pacific briefly offered a service to Fiji in 2004.[2][3] The Airport serves flights to and from domestic destinations, mainly in south eastern Australia.

Location

The Airport is located at the intersection of Canberra's main East-West artery (Parkes Way/Pialligo Avenue) and Eastern Ring Road (Monaro Highway/Majura Road) near the semi-rural suburb of Pialligo about 8–10 minutes drive from the city centre, 15 minutes from Gungahlin and 10 minutes from Queanbeyan at non-peak times; travel times can be much longer at peak times due to traffic congestion.

The land is currently divided into five areas:

  • The passenger terminal and general aviation facility are on the western side of the main runway.
  • The Brindabella Business Park is adjacent to the passenger terminal.[4]
  • The ex-air force base is on the eastern side of the main runway. This currently houses the government's VIP transport squadron and is used by visiting heads of state and military aircraft in transit.
  • The rest of the ex-RAAF base area has been named Fairbairn and is being developed as another "business park" area.[5]
  • There is a retail and mixed use section on Majura Road which has been named Majura Park.[6]

History

Tiger Airways Australia jet at Canberra.
Fairbairn and the air traffic control tower.

The airport was built up from an old airstrip that was first laid down in the 1920s, not long after the National Capital site was decided. In 1939 it was taken over by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), with an area leased out for civil aviation.

On 13 August 1940, in what became known as the Canberra air disaster, a RAAF Lockheed Hudson flying from Melbourne crashed into a small hill to the east of the airport. Four crew and six passengers, including the Chief of the General Staff and three Federal Government ministers, were killed in the accident. James Fairbairn, Minister for Air and Civil Aviation, was one of those killed and Fairbairn Airbase the eastern component of the airport was subsequently named after him. In 1962 the military side of the Airport was renamed RAAF Base Fairbairn. The North-East quadrant of the Airport still retains the Fairbairn name.

The lease to the site was sold to Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd[7] in 1998, and the RAAF area was sub-leased back to the Department of Defence. It was decommissioned as a RAAF base in 2003, (although No. 34 Squadron RAAF remains based there), and the RAAF area was renamed Defence Establishment Fairbairn.

In the years since the sale of the lease to Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd, a series of upgrades have taken place at the Airport including major terminal upgrades. In early December 2007, plans were announced to construct a new terminal,[8][9] but these plans were placed on hold in late 2008.[10]

Over a dozen office buildings have also been built on Airport land at Brindabella Business Park[4] and Fairbairn[5], and a retail precinct called Majura Park[6], which also contains an outlet centre operated by Brand Depot,[11] has been established along Majura Road.

The Canberra Spatial Plan released by the ACT Government in March 2004 identified the airport and surrounding areas as being an important centre for future industrial and related development.[12]

Several new hangars and buildings have been erected in both Fairbairn and near the terminal. A 600m extension to the airport's runway and upgrades to runway systems were completed in 2006.[13]

In 2008, the management of Canberra International Airport launched an advertising campaign in support of the idea of having Canberra considered as Sydney's Second Airport. The slogan they were using was "Is the solution to Sydney's second airport still 20 years away? Less than 3 hours actually." Their point of view is presented at "Canberra is the Only Serious Solution to Sydney's Air Traffic Problems."[14]

The Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese rejected Canberra International Airport's draft master plan in November 2008 on the grounds that it did not provide enough detail on the proposal to develop the airport into a freight hub and the airport's community consultation had been insufficient.[15] The Airport's 2005 master plan was also criticised by the then-Howard Government for not providing enough information.[10]

Issues

Canberra International Airport carpark

Access

Access to and from the Canberra airport terminal is primarily by car, hire car or taxi. Canberra Cabs and partner taxi companies provide services to the airport taxi rank, with cabs waiting when flights come in.

There are two shuttle buses run by Deane's Buslines - the Airliner[16] service into Civic (route A1), and route 834 to nearby Queanbeyan on the NSW side of the NSW/ACT border.[17]

Canberra airport terminal is not serviced by the ACT public transport system (ACTION).[18][19] ACTION's website still has the airport listed as a suburb, however the bus route listed next to the airport connects to the Deane's Buslines website.[20] ACTION runs five services to various parts of the airport site (to/from Civic (737), Belconnen (10), Gungahlin (757), Tuggeranong (786), Weston Creek and Woden (28)),[19] but these stop at Brindabella Business Park, Fairbairn and Brand Depot, not at the terminal itself.[21] These locations are quite a distance from the main terminal building, making them impractical for pedestrians with luggage, and therefore use of these services as airport shuttles is extremely low.

Noise, noise sharing and curfews

Approach and departure corridors lie over largely rural and industrial areas, although the instrument approach path (from the south) passes near the New South Wales suburb of Jerrabomberra, the city of Queanbeyan, and the Royal Australian Navy base, HMAS Harman, which has some barracks and housing.

Proposals have been made to the NSW Planning Minister by various developers to approve housing estates that are under the southern flight paths in New South Wales. Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd[7] has been vigorous in advertising its opposition to these plans on the basis of a general increase in noise levels over a wide corridor which is currently free of aircraft noise,[22] and concern that this will lead to the imposition of a curfew on the hours-of-operation of the airport.[23]

Curfew 4 Canberra[24] has been formed in response to the changes proposed in Canberra Airport’s draft 2008 Master Plan, in particular the night time aircraft movements and the impact this will have on the quality of life for all residents of the Canberra region. Its membership draws on the residents associations from around the ACT. One of the key platforms is the introduction of a night time curfew at Canberra Airport. The core objectives of Curfew 4 Canberra include: secure an 11pm-6am curfew; oppose Canberra Airport becoming a 24 hour freight hub; oppose Canberra Airport becoming Sydney’s 2nd Airport; oppose the construction of a parallel (third) runway.

Road traffic and road traffic congestion

View of Canberra International Airport from Mount Ainslie

The road system around Canberra Airport and the road between Civic and Canberra Airport was being duplicated as at July 2008, partly funded by Canberra Airport and the ACT Government. Federal Labor has also committed to further road improvements in the area through the extension of the Monaro Highway.[25][26]

The Chief Minister of the ACT Government initially blamed the Commonwealth for the increased traffic congestion around the airport, which he claims has occurred due to the construction of office buildings on airport land[27], however, Mr Stanhope later stated that while he accepted the development of the airport adds to the level of traffic on the roads, it is not the cause of the congestion during peak periods.[28] The ACT Government established a roundtable working group to examine the roads around the Airport and identify solutions to the road congestion through the Majura Valley.[29] The roundtable identified that the cause of the road traffic was increased traffic from Gungahlin, the expansion of the airport and Queanbeyan's growing population.[30][31]The working group recommended a staged approach to solving the traffic congestion, with Stage 1 including the duplication of Pialligo Avenue, Morshead Drive and Fairbairn Avenue.[32]

Possible Expansion

High-speed rail link

On 10 February 2009, it was announced that a high-speed rail link between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne was being proposed. The plan has been shortlisted by Infrastructure Australia for further consideration. If completed, it would link Sydney to Canberra in around 50 minutes, making Canberra International Airport a viable second international airport serving Sydney. With Sydney International Airport's capacity set to hit maximum in around two decades, this option (which would cost the NSW Government around $59 billion) would be the cheapest and quickest to implement. It would also boost tourism in Canberra.[33]

Terminal Redevelopment

In early December 2007, plans were announced to construct a new terminal, with construction commencing in July 2008, and completion set for mid 2010. When completed, the terminal would have 6 aerobridges (an increase of 2), 32 check-in counters, (twice the current number), 2,500 car parking spaces (doubled), three times the baggage belt capacity, and the floor area of the lounge facilities would be quadrupled.[8][34]

These plans were placed on hold in late 2008 as a result of the Global economic crisis.[10]

In April 2009 Canberra Airport announced that it will spend $350 million on a number of infrastructure projects:[35]

  • 3 new jet aircraft parking positions - under construction
  • 2 Structured Car Parks (1200 undercover spaces each) - the first is under construction
  • A New Southern Concourse Terminal - commenced
  • A Western Concourse Terminal - planned to commence late 2010 (subject to various approvals including finance)

Changes to the terminal will include:[35]

  • International capability with dedicated customs, immigration and quarantine facilities
  • More than double the number of check-in counters (from 17 to 44)
  • A tripling of baggage capacity
  • A quadrupling of Airline Club Lounge areas
  • A two storey roadside drop off and pick up system - departures on the upper level and arrivals on the lower level
  • An indoor taxi rank waiting area - a first for an Australian airport

They have placed a 4.5 minute animated video of the planned finished product on their website.[36]

The project has been given the go ahead by Canberra International Airport executive chairman Terry Snow, to start late 2009. It was approved by the Australian Government in February 2008. The new terminal will increase space by 65%. There will be 9 airbridges, a 4 level car park and an under-cover taxi rank.[citation needed] Space will be made for the future requirements of International flights.[37]

Statistics

Total passengers

Passenger terminal at night
Year Actual
[38] 		2003
Forecast
[38]
1982-83 708,000
1997-98 1,825,000
2000-01 2,110,000
2001-02 1,840,000
2002-03 1,920,991
2003 2,075,000
2003-04 2,305,517 2,176,603
2004-05 2,280,557
2008-09 2,829,882
2014-15 3,476,797
2019-20 4,270,094
2024-25 5,212,007

Busiest Domestic Routes

Annual Numbers of Revenue Paying passengers by Financial Year - total of both directions[39]
Rank
 Airport
 YE
June
2000
 YE
June
2001
 YE
June
2002
 YE
June
2003
 YE
June
2004
 YE
June
2005
 YE
June
2006
 YE
June
2007
 YE
June
2008
 %
Change
1 Melbourne Airport 747,221 796,904 701,760 742,032 796,857 853,953 900,637 954,611 1,008,199 Increase5.7
2 Sydney Airport 881,861 929,350 724,722 737,477 857,355 791,996 785,604 829,091 887,447 Increase7.0
3 Brisbane Airport 231,029 274,251 332,779 333,459 426,319 516,519 534,601 595,825 619,837 Increase4.0
4 Adelaide Airport 100,481 98,070 90,188 100,524 164,508 184,619 199,127 201,505 206,529 Increase2.5
Annual Numbers of Revenue Paying passengers by month - total of both directions[39]
Rank
 Airport
 YE
July 2008
 YE
Aug 2008
 YE
Sept 2008
 YE
Oct 2008
 YE
Nov 2008
 YE
Dec 2008
 YE
Jan 2009
1 Melbourne Airport 1,013,876 1,018,650 1,029,785 1,046,235 1,056,689 1,068,522 1,078,144
2 Sydney Airport 901,114 907,547 922,360 937,216 946,602 959,547 968,679
3 Brisbane Airport 617,148 615,060 612,201 612,309 609,708 609,527 610,679
4 Adelaide Airport 205,066 201,986 200,237 196,088 193,525 192,638 190,599

Airlines and destinations

Passenger airlines operating at
Canberra International Airport
Airlines Destinations
Brindabella Airlines Albury, Newcastle[40]
Qantas Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
QantasLink Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney
Tiger Airways Australia Adelaide, Melbourne
Virgin Blue Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart,[41] Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville[41]

References

  1. ^ Capital Airport Group Pty Ltd, canberraairport.com.au
  2. ^ The Hub Newsletter, Issue 24, 2004 -Issue 24 is no longer available on-line.
  3. ^ Canberra is designated by the (Australian Government) Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government as a "Designated International Airport". (The categories of international airports are explained under the sub-heading "International Airports".)
  4. ^ a b Brindabella Business Park, brindabellabusinesspark.com.au
  5. ^ a b Fairbairn (business park), fairbairn.com.au
  6. ^ a b Majura Park (retail precinct), majurapark.com.au
  7. ^ a b Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd
  8. ^ a b The Hub Newsletter, Issue 43, January 2008.
  9. ^ Information and updates about changes to the airport, canberraairport.com.au
  10. ^ a b c McLennan, David (2008-11-22). "Feds bring airport's 24/7 ambitions back down to earth". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  11. ^ Brand Depot, branddepot.com.au
  12. ^ Canberra Spatial Plan, March 2004, ACT Government.
  13. ^ The Hub Newsletter, Issue 34, August 2006.
  14. ^ "Canberra is the Only Serious Solution to Sydney's Air Traffic Problems."[dead link]
  15. ^ "Airport plan lacked detail: Albanese". ABC News. 2008-11-22. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  16. ^ "Airliner website". Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  17. ^ "Deane's Buslines website". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  18. ^ "No plans for Canberra Airport public bus". ABC News. 2005-04-25. Retrieved 2007-08-18. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  19. ^ a b "ACTion website". Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  20. ^ ACTION Buses - Routes by Suburb
  21. ^ "ACTION "Building a better bus service"". Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  22. ^ This is referred to as "Noise Sharing". See "Aircraft Noise - Land Use Planning document". Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd. Retrieved 2007-10-28. and Noise Sharing, Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd for an explanation of their rationale.
  23. ^ "Judge's Ruling says noise will be a problem at Tralee", The Hub, Issue 40 (September 2007), pg4. Canberra Airport Newsletter.
  24. ^ Curfew 4 Canberra
  25. ^ "Labor party media release". 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-06-18. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  26. ^ "The Hub". Issue 45. Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd. July 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-18. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  27. ^ "Stanhope blames Commonwealth for airport congestion". ABC News. 2007-03-07. Retrieved 2007-08-18. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  28. ^ "Letter from Mr Jon Stanhope to Mr Stephen Byron, 15 January 2007, contained in submission to the National Capital Authority Inquiry" (PDF). 2007-01-15. Retrieved 2008-06-18. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  29. ^ "Airport Roads Roundtable". Jon Stanhope Media Release. Retrieved 2007-08-19. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  30. ^ "Canberra Airport Roads Working Group - Interim Report". ACT Government. 2006-06-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  31. ^ "Media Release: $15 Million to Boost Road Access to Airport" (PDF). ACT Government. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2007-06-05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  32. ^ "Canberra Airport Roads Working Group - Final Report". ACT Government. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2007-08-19. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  33. ^ "High Speed Rail Link to Make Canberra Sydney's Second Airport". PopSci.com.au. 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2009-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ Information and updates about changes to the airport, canberraairport.com.au
  35. ^ a b "Project key facts", AirVolution project, Canberra Airport Website. Retrieved on 2009-04-11.
  36. ^ Animated video, planned airport changes, Canberra Airport website. Retrieved on 2009-04-11.
  37. ^ "The Air Volution", Information about Canberra's (planned) new air terminal, Canberra Airport website. Retrieved on 2009-04-11.
  38. ^ a b 2005 Canberra Airport Master Plan pp.24-25
  39. ^ a b Domestic Totals & Top Routes, Australian Domestic Airline Activity - time series (updated monthly), Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics. Most recently retrieved data: Published March 2009; Data to January 2009 inclusive; retrieved 2009-04-11.
  40. ^ Brindabella Airlines - Schedule
  41. ^ a b Five New Routes to commence 6 April 2009, Virgin Blue Press Release, 11 Feb 2009, accessed 2009-02-11.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canberra International Airport.


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