Albury Airport

Albury Airport (IATA: ABX, ICAO: YMAY) is a regional airport located 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) northeast Albury, New South Wales, Australia. The airport, which also serves Albury's adjacent twin city of Wodonga, Victoria was the fifth busiest in New South Wales as of 2016. The airport also hosts the official weather station for Albury-Wodonga.

Albury Airport
Overview of the airport from the south-east
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorAlbury City Council
ServesAlbury, New South Wales, Wodonga, Victoria
Elevation AMSL539 ft / 164 m
Coordinates36°04′06″S 146°57′30″E
WebsiteOfficial website
Map
YMAY
Location in New South Wales
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 1,900 6,234 Asphalt
Statistics (FY 2016-17[1])
Passengers262,545
Aircraft movements8,388

History

Although the site had been laid out as an aerodrome since the late 1930s, it was not until 1963 that construction to allow regular passenger flights to Sydney and Melbourne was completed, with the first flights arriving on 16 December that year. The airport was officially opened by the Minister for National Development David Fairbairn on 13 September 1964.[4]

The late 1970s and early 80s were a period of rapid growth at Albury airport, which benefited from expansion fuelled by the Albury-Wodonga National Growth Centre project. Upgrades to the runway were completed at this time to permit the operation of regional jet aircraft such as the Fokker F28. A control tower and new terminal were constructed and passenger numbers almost doubled between 1983 (82,000) and 1986 (160,000). The main carriers serving Albury at this time included East-West, Air NSW and Kendell Airlines. The airport funded further expansion with funds from landing and departure fees, levied at $1.50 per passenger.[5]

Further extensions to the passenger terminal to incorporate new security screening facilities were completed in 2009 at a cost of around $5 million.

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
QantasLink Melbourne (begins 28 March 2021),[6] Sydney
Regional Express Melbourne, Sydney

The airport is serviced by QantasLink who uses a combination of 50 seat Dash 8-300s and 74 seat Dash 8-400s to Sydney; Regional Express (REX) who uses 36 seat Saab 340s on services to Sydney and Melbourne. JETGO Australia introduced jet services to Brisbane in June 2016 using 36-seat Embraer ERJ-135LRs, expanding to two weekly return flights to the Gold Coast from 29 June 2017. JETGO Australia's services later ceased after the company entered voluntary administration on 1 June 2018.[7]

Before services were withdrawn, Virgin Australia operated twice daily to Sydney using 68-seat ATR-72s. Previously, jet services had been operated by Virgin Australia, which launched services to Albury on 5 February 2008 (as Virgin Blue) with double-daily flights using Embraer 170s before the type was phased out of their fleet. During the 1980s and early 90s, East–West served Albury with Fokker F28 jets. Brindabella Airlines provided a direct service to Canberra, but this ended controversially in 2012 when the airline cited an expected increase in operating costs due to the implementation of the a Carbon pricing scheme by set to be introduced by the Gillard Government.[8]

The airport is also served by charter, freight, agricultural, and general aviation aircraft. Until 4 March 2002 Kendell Airlines served Albury, flying to Sydney and Melbourne.

Operations
Busiest domestic routes (year ending June 2015)[9]
Rank Airport Passengers % change Carriers
1  New South Wales, Sydney 216 965 3.7 Virgin Australia, QantasLink, Regional Express
2  Victoria, Melbourne 8 824 no data yet Regional Express
3  Queensland, Brisbane 8 822 no data yet JETGO Australia
Albury Airport terminal
A QantasLink Q400 that had just arrived at Albury Airport from Sydney
Annual passenger statistics for Albury Airport[3][10]
Year[1]Passenger numbers
2001-02 122,493
2002-03 130,865
2003-04 158,489
2004-05 184,607
2005-06 198,020
2006-07 212,264
2007-08 247,144
2008-09 282,451
2009-10 285,353
2010-11 284,535
2011-12 282,631
2012-13 267,565
2013-14 253,004
2014-15 244,611
2015-16 246,512
2016-17 262,545

See also

References
  1. Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June
  2. YMAY – Albury (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 05 Nov 2020
  3. "Airport Traffic Data 1985-86 to 2015-16". Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). September 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  4. "Albury & District Timeline" (PDF). Albury & District Historical Society. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  5. Pennay, Bruce (2005). Making a City in the Country: The Albury-Wodonga National Growth Centre Project. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. p. 205. ISBN 0 86840 944 8.
  6. Cockburn, Gerard (18 December 2020). "Qantas reveals new flights for 2021". News.com.au. NCA NewsWire. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  7. "Surfers Paradise plane link unveiled". The Border Mail. Fairfax Media. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  8. Wroe, David (30 May 2012). "Air route axed amid carbon tax concerns". Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. Australian Domestic Airline Activity
  10. "Master Plan". FlyAlbury. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
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