Katoomba Airfield

Katoomba Airfield (ICAO: YKAT) is an Australian airfield located in the town of Medlow Bath, New South Wales. The airport is 11.5 kilometres (7.1 mi) by road from the Central Business District of the nearby city of Katoomba. It is a country airfield that has seen minimal use. The airfield is currently closed to airplanes and helicopters. The site remains available for use by emergency services.

Katoomba Airfield
Summary
Airport typePrivate
OperatorFlyBlue Management Pty Ltd
LocationMedlow Bath, NSW, Australia
Time zoneAEST (+10:00)
 • Summer (DST)AEDT (+11:00)
Elevation AMSL3,280 ft / 999 m
Coordinates33°40′06″S 150°19′24″E
Map
Katoomba Airfield
Location in New South Wales
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
06/24 3,116 950 Unsealed

The airport is Crown Land and is operated by FlyBlue Management Pty Ltd,[1] taking over the licence of the site in February 2018.[2]

History

Katoomba Airfield has a long history dating back to the Royal Australian Army in 1925, when a survey of the surrounding Blue Mountains region identified land suitable for an airport site. In 1959 the Blue Mountains National Park was formally gazetted, meaning future development of the now-protected site would require special government approval.[3]

In the mid 1960s, land was excised for the airfield, with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service agreeing to exclude the airfield from land to be added to the National Park at that time, provided that the land was added to it upon the expiry of the lease in 1988. The then Lands Department agreed to this process. This led the way for the site to be developed and officially opened in 1969 by Harold Coates MP (then State Member for Blue Mountains) and Ern Lesslie (then Mayor of Blue Mountains Council)[4]

From its opening in 1969 the airfield provided an air "Safety Ramp" for general aviation, being the only fixed aircraft landing area between Sydney and Central West NSW. In 2008 the commercial lease expired and the Government of NSW proposed the sale of airfield land; however, Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) were opposed to the sale and reaffirmed its position that the land should be part of Blue Mountains National Park. An agreement was eventually reached and the land was then occupied on monthly arrangement until 2017. Minimal commercial activities occurred in this time and, as such, the airfield began to fall into disrepair.[3]

In 2016 Katoomba Airfield's licencee, flying instructor Rod Hay, was killed in a single-engine plane crash in nearby scrub at the airfield.[5] In September 2017, following this accident, the Department of Primary Industry called for an Expression of Interest from parties interested to licence the site. Blackbird Helicopters was the granted the licence from 1 February 2018.[6]

There was community concern about the proposal. A 56-day public submissions period for the proposed development ended on 4 August 2019,[7] gaining over 1500 submissions,[8] and a petition of 12,200 signatures opposing the development was presented to NSW Parliament by local MP Trish Doyle.[9] On 27 August 2019, Blue Mountains City Council voted to oppose the development[10] in its submission to the Department of Primary Industry.

Operations

Katoomba currently does not have any companies based at the airfield; however, if required for emergency services, its use to support efforts such as a staging area for firefighting support cannot be refused.[11]

Radio procedures

Katoomba has no control centre and pilots communicate over a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency.[1]

References
  1. "Airport: KATOOMBA" (PDF). www.airservicesaustralia.com. Airservices Australia. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  2. Lewis, B. C. (17 October 2018). "Airfield take-off: New faces at Katoomba airfield, Medlow Bath". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  3. "Katoomba Airfield History and Background" (PDF). Blue Mountains Conservation Society. May 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  4. "Katoomba Airfield Information Pack" (PDF). FlyBlue Pty Ltd. March 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  5. "'Amazing' instructor killed in air crash". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  6. Lewis, B. C. (14 December 2018). "Katoomba airfield licensees meet with Medlow Bathers". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  7. "Proposed lease of Katoomba Airfield - Crown land in New South Wales". NSW Department of Industry. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  8. Dye, Josh (31 August 2019). "'Potential to scare tourists away': Bitter dispute engulfs Katoomba airfield". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  9. "10,000+ signature petition - Ms Trish Doyle - from certain citizens requesting the Legislative Assembly incorporate the Katoomba Airfield into the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, to be managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service as an emergency airfield". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  10. Cunningham, Ilsa (28 August 2019). "Council opposes Katoomba Airfield commercialisation plans". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  11. "Proposed lease of Katoomba Airfield". industry.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
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