East Kimberley Regional Airport

The East Kimberley Regional Airport (IATA: KNX, ICAO: YPKU), locally known as the Kununurra Airport, is an airport in Kununurra, Western Australia. The airport is 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) west of the town.[2] Heavy wet seasons often result in this area being cut off from essential outside services and deliveries. The airport is a crucial piece of infrastructure which enables people and goods to enter or leave from the region and especially supports tourism and economic development.

East Kimberley Regional Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerShire of Wyndham East-Kimberley
ServesKununurra
LocationKununurra, Western Australia
Elevation AMSL145 ft / 44 m
Coordinates15°46′41″S 128°42′27″E
Websitehttp://www.swek.wa.gov.au/community/airports
Map
YPKU
Location in Western Australia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12/30 1,829 6,001 Asphalt
Statistics (2010/11[1])
Passengers86,955
Aircraft movements2,779
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[2]
Passenger and aircraft movements from the BITRE[3]

In 2012, a major expansion of the airport was completed and opened to the public. Costing about AUD$8.68 million, it effectively doubled the size of the facility. This now includes a dedicated arrivals hall with baggage carousel, enlarged check-in area and improved security for the enlarged departure lounge.[4]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Airnorth Broome, Darwin
Seasonal: Perth[5]
AviairBalgo, Halls Creek, Kalumburu
Virgin Australia Seasonal: Melbourne[6]
Virgin Australia Regional Airlines Perth

Charter airlines
  • Kimberley Air Tours[7]
  • Shoal Air
  • Helispirit[8]
  • Aviair[9]

Due to the long distances involved in traveling across the Kimberley region, several air-tours are offered by various charter airlines not based in Kununurra, hopping across the north-west of Australia. Occasionally connecting some major eastern Australian cities directly with Kununurra and with some bus tour companies too, to avoid lengthy transfers in Darwin or Perth.

Statistics

Kununurra Airport was ranked 47th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010–2011.[1][3]

Annual passenger and aircraft statistics for Kununurra Airport[3]
Year Revenue passengersAircraft movements
2001-02
37,134
2,200
2002-03
37,160
2,671
2003-04
40,239
2,625
2004-05
48,051
2,681
2005-06
50,901
2,556
2006-07
60,680
3,048
2007-08
69,483
2,817
2008-09
74,742
2,488
2009-10
81,933
2,514
2010-11
86,955
2,779
2011-12
91,459
2,257
2012-13
91,992
2,428
2013-14
86,279
2,250
2014-15
77,407
2,192
2015-16
74,334
2,170
2016-17
71,190
2,119
2017-18
69,599
1,991
2018-19
77,072
2,043

New terminal
East Kimberly Regional Airport (Kununurra) departure lounge
View of East Kimberly Regional Airport (Kununurra) from the window of a Virgin Australia Fokker 100
Airside view of East Kimberly Regional Airport (Kununurra)
Arrivals gate at East Kimberley Regional Airport

Old terminal
Former terminal building before the 2011-12 expansion works
Inside the former terminal building

See also

References
  1. Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June
  2. YPKU – Kununurra (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 05 Nov 2020, Aeronautical Chart Archived 10 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Airport Traffic Data 1985-86 to 2010-11". Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). May 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012. Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"
  4. "Kimberley Page :: News and Information from Western Australia's Kimberley Region, Kunnunurra news, Fitzroy Crossing News, Broome News, Derby News, Halls Creek News". kimberleypage.com.au. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  5. "Airnorth". secure.airnorth.com.au. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  6. "Direct flights Melbourne to Kununurra commence 2020". Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  7. "Scenic Air Tours & Charter Flights". Scenic Air Tours & Charter Flights - Kimberley Air Tours. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  8. "Scenic Flights & Air Tours - Air Charter Services - Scheduled Flights". Scenic Flights & Air Tours - Air Charter Services - Scheduled Flights - Aviair. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  9. "Scenic Flights & Air Tours - Air Charter Services - Scheduled Flights". Scenic Flights & Air Tours - Air Charter Services - Scheduled Flights - Aviair. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.