| Brisbane Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerial view of Brisbane Airport | |||
| IATA: BNE – ICAO: YBBN
BNE
|
|||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Limited | ||
| Serves | Brisbane, Queensland | ||
| Hub for | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 13 ft / 4 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 01/19 | 3,560 | 11,680 | Asphalt |
| 14/32 | 1,700 | 5,577 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2010) | |||
| Passengers | 20,056,416 | ||
| Source:Brisbane Airport[1] | |||
Brisbane Airport (IATA: BNE, ICAO: YBBN) is the sole passenger airport serving Brisbane and the third busiest in Australia, after Melbourne and Sydney Airports. Brisbane Airport has won many awards. Located in the suburb with the same name,[2] the airport serves the city of Brisbane and the surrounding metropolitan area. Brisbane is currently served with 46 domestic destinations in all States and Territories and 32 international destinations. For the 12 months ending May 2011 total passengers were 20,056,416.[3]
It is a major hub for Virgin Australia, and a secondary hub for both Qantas and its low cost subsidiary Jetstar. It is part of the Brisbane–Sydney air route, which is the twelfth busiest passenger air route in the world, and the seventh busiest in the Asia-Pacific region. It also serves the Brisbane–Melbourne air route, which is the 34th busiest passenger air route in the world[4] Brisbane Airport also has the most domestic connections following Sydney Airport.
Brisbane Airport is home to Qantas' 767-300 and A330 heavy maintenance facility.[5][6] Virgin Australia has a smaller maintenance facility at the Airport, where line-maintenance on the Airline's 737 fleet is performed.[7] Other airlines, namely QantasLink, Air Australia and Alliance Airlines also conduct maintenance at their respective facilities at the Airport.[8][9]
The airport has international and domestic passenger terminals, a cargo terminal, a General Aviation terminal and apron as well as two runways. Brisbane Airport is accessible from the central business district by the Gateway Motorway and the Airtrain rail service, which is linked to the Citytrain suburban network. The new Airport Link motorway is planned to connect the Brisbane CBD and airport.
The airport was awarded the IATA Eagle Award in 2005, the second of only two Australian airports to receive such award.[10] Brisbane Airport was voted the best airport in the Australia-Pacific region and the airport with the friendliest staff in the world in the 2008 Skytrax World Airport Awards.[11] In 2009 it was voted the best airport in Australia and again won the friendliest staff award for the Asia Pacific region.[12] The International terminal has also won the Queensland architecture award.[13] In 2010 it was again voted the "Best Australian Airport" by Skytrax and made the worlds top 20 airports.[14][15][16]
Contents |
Due to its flat surface, Eagle Farm, originally a farming area, was announced as an aerodrome in 1925.[17] Although Qantas started operations there in 1926, most of the flights in Brisbane operated at the Archerfield Airport, which contained a superior landing surface. While in operation, Charles Kingsford Smith landed there on 9 June 1928, after completing the first trans-pacific flight in his Fokker F.VII, the Southern Cross.[18] There is now a museum containing the original aircraft, along with a memorial located within the Brisbane Airport precinct.
During the Second World War, Brisbane was the headquarters of the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in the South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur. The United States armed forces upgraded the airfield to cater for military flights, bringing it to such a standard that it became the main civilian airport for the city.[17]
By the 1970s it was clear that the facilities at Eagle Farm were inadequate for a city of Brisbane's size and anticipated growth. Many long-haul international services to Asia were required to make an enroute stop (i.e. Darwin), disadvantaging the city to lure prospective carriers and business opportunities. The Federal Government announced the construction of a new airport to be built immediately north of Eagle Farm. The new airport was built by Leighton Holdings and opened in 1988.[19][20] The new airport was built on the former Brisbane residential suburb of Cribb Island that was demolished to make way for the airport. Large amounts of sand were pumped from nearby Moreton Bay to bring much of the swampy land above the range of tides.
The new facilities included: two new independent terminals; new state-of-the-art maintenance facilities; new freight apron at the existing passenger terminal; two runways with parallel taxiway systems (cater for Code F+ aircraft); new access roads and parking facilities; and as well as a new 75m tall ATC tower.
As part of the privatisation of numerous Australian airports, the airport was acquired from the Federal Airports Corporation on a 99 year lease by a consortium of governmental and financial interests led by Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, which now holds the management contract for the facility. The airport is also a partner in the Australia TradeCoast economic development zone.
Brisbane Airport has two passenger terminals.
The International Terminal was built in 1995 and has 12/14 (2 A380s or 4 A320s)[21] parking bays served by aerobridges. Overall, with the expansion of the international terminal, there are 12 parking bays through-out the terminal, 2 being A380 ready, the rest single.[22]
The International Terminal has 4 levels: Level 1 houses airlines, baggage handlers and tourism operators, Level 2 handles arrivals, Level 3 houses the departure lounge, and Level 4 houses departure Check-in.
The airport also contains an Emirates Airline first class lounge, the first outside Dubai that has direct access to the A380 aerobridges (A380s do not at this point in time operate on scheduled services to Brisbane).[23] The terminal also features Air New Zealand, Qantas and Singapore Airlines lounges.
The terminal also has a 5 storey, $35m long term carpark and a smaller short term carpark.[23]
The Domestic Terminal has three distinct areas serving Qantas and Qantaslink at the northern end of the building, Virgin Australia at the southern end of the building, and other carriers such as Jetstar, Tiger and Skytrans are located in the centre at the common user section.
The Qantas concourse has 9 bays served by aerobridges including 1 served by a dual bridge. It has three lounges – the Qantas Club, Business Class and Chairman's Lounge. Virgin Australia occupies what was the former Ansett Australia end of the terminal. Its concourse has 11 parking bays, six of which are served by aerobridges (all single bridges). It has one lounge – The Lounge which is located in the former Golden Wing Club opposite Gate 41.
Remote bays are located to the north and south of the building (serving non-jet aircraft), and in the central area (serving jet aircraft).
| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Aeropelican | Narrabri[24] | D |
| Air Australia | Melbourne, Port Hedland | D |
| Air Australia | Denpasar/Bali, Honolulu[25], Phuket | I |
| Air New Zealand | Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Norfolk Island [begins 3 March][26] Seasonal: Queenstown |
I |
| Air Niugini | Port Moresby | I |
| Air Pacific | Nadi | I |
| Air Vanuatu | Espiritu Santo, Port Vila | I |
| Aircalin | Nouméa-La Tontouta | I |
| Alliance Airlines | Alice Springs, Ballera, Emerald, Orange, Newcastle, Telfer, Townsville, Trepell[27] | D |
| Brindabella Airlines | Armidale,[28] Coffs Harbour, Moree, Tamworth | D |
| Cathay Pacific | Hong Kong1 | I |
| China Airlines | Auckland, Taipei–Taoyuan | I |
| China Southern Airlines | Guangzhou | I |
| Emirates | Auckland, Dubai, Singapore | I |
| Etihad Airways | Abu Dhabi, Singapore | I |
| EVA Air | Taipei–Taoyuan | I |
| GAM Air | Chinchilla | D |
| Jetstar Airways | Adelaide, Avalon, Cairns, Darwin, Denpasar/Bali2, Hamilton Island, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Proserpine, Sydney, Townsville | D |
| Jetstar Airways | Christchurch | I |
| Korean Air | Seoul–Incheon | I |
| Malaysia Airlines | Kuala Lumpur | I |
| Norfolk Air operated by Our Airline | Norfolk Island [ends 1 March]1 | I |
| Our Airline | Honiara, Nauru, Tarawa | I |
| Qantas | Adelaide, Alice Springs, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Karratha, Melbourne, Mount Isa, Perth, Sydney, Townsville Seasonal: Broome, Hobart |
D |
| Qantas | Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Manila, Nouméa-La Tontouta, Singapore, Sydney Seasonal: Queenstown, Mumbai |
I |
| Qantas operated by Jetconnect | Auckland | I |
| Qantas operated by QantasLink | Barcaldine, Biloela/Thangool, Blackall, Bundaberg, Cairns, Canberra, Charleville, Emerald, Gladstone, Hervey Bay, Longreach, Lord Howe Island, Mackay, Moranbah, Newcastle, Rockhampton, Roma, Townsville | D |
| Singapore Airlines | Singapore | I |
| Skytrans Airlines | Bedourie, Birdsville, Boulia, Charleville, Clearmont, Cunnamulla, Mount Isa, Quilpie, St George, Thargomindah, Toowoomba, Windorah | D |
| Solomon Airlines | Honiara | I |
| Thai Airways International | Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi | I |
| Tiger Airways Australia | Melbourne | D |
| Virgin Australia | Adelaide, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Hamilton Island, Hobart, Mackay, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Proserpine, Rockhampton, Sydney, Townsville Seasonal: Launceston[29] |
D |
| Virgin Australia | Auckland, Christchurch, Denpasar/Bali, Dunedin, Hamilton, Honiara, Los Angeles, Nadi, Port Moresby, Port Vila, Wellington Seasonal: Queenstown |
I |
| Virgin Australia operated by Skywest Airlines |
Emerald [begins 16 January][30], Gladstone, Port Macquarie | D |
| Virgin Samoa operated by Virgin Australia |
Apia | I |
(#) Denotes charter flights.
The following airlines operate scheduled cargo flights from Brisbane. All cargo services operate from the Freight Terminal.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Australian air Express | Cairns, Melbourne, Townsville |
| HeavyLift Cargo Airlines | Honiara, Port Moresby |
| Pacific Air Express | Honiara, Nauru, Port Vila[31][32] |
| Pel-Air for DHL | Mackay, Rockhampton, Sydney |
| Toll Aviation operated by Jetcraft Aviation | Adelaide, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney |
| Toll Priority | Melbourne, Perth, Sydney |
Brisbane Airport has 4 car-parks, all operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are 2 multi-level undercover carparks, the international, providing short and long term services, and the domestic providing only long-term services. Other Car Parks include the open-air ParkShort carparks aside each of the terminals, and Qantas Valet Parking at the domestic terminal only. Due to the present growth of the Airport – the fastest growing Airport in Australia, a new multi story car park is under-construction in the domestic precinct which will provide an extra 5000 car spaces within the terminal bringing the total car spaces to 9000.[37]
The airport provides two railway stations as part of a specialty Airport rail line. The International Terminal railway station is elevated and located next to the International terminal, as is the Domestic railway station. The stations are separate from the Citytrain suburban network and are privately owned and operated by the Airtrain consortium. As a result passengers are required to purchase a far more expensive ticket in comparison to a suburban trip of similar length. Although Brisbane Airport operates 24 hours a day, the Airtrain service only operates between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm, with services running every 30 minutes or 15 minutes in peak times.[38]
There is an inter-terminal bus connecting the two terminals, and the nearby, DFO Shopping Precinct and Novotel Hotel. Services run between 5:00 am and 11:00 pm for Terminal Transfers, and 6:00 am to 6:00 pm for the DFO Shopping Precinct.[39]
A staged upgrade and expansion of Brisbane Airport’s Domestic Terminal Precinct has commenced. The first two stages are the Common User Satellite Project and the new Multi Level Car Park. Brisbane Airport’s Domestic Terminal is a curved building. The three ‘satellites’ extending beyond the building provide additional passenger lounge facilities for airlines. Two of the satellites at Brisbane Airport are complete (i.e. full circles) and the third satellite (in the centre area used by Jetstar and other regional airlines) is currently a horseshoe shape. The Common User Satellite Upgrade Project will turn the horseshoe shaped satellite into a shape similar to the other satellites. Capacity of the Common User Satellite will increase and on completion there will be additional aircraft gates, lounges, food outlets, airline offices and facilities for other operational requirements. Construction of the new nine-level car park will commence mid 2010 and once complete, the car park will provide around 5,000 new undercover car parks, bringing the total number of car park spaces within the Domestic Terminal precinct to around 9,000.[40] On 15 November 2010 construction commenced on a major expansion of Qantas' baggage room facilities, in order to meet continued increasing demand. This development has seen the ground floor of the domestic terminal extended out to the airside roadway between the Qantas satellite and Gate 25.
On 18 September 2007, the federal government granted approval for the construction of a new runway at Brisbane airport. The proposed $1 billion new runway would take approximately eight years to construct and would generate about 2,700 jobs. The 3,600-metre runway would operate parallel to the existing north/south runway.
Proposals to build a parallel runway eventually (when it is necessary) have been the subject of controversy led by some local politicians. This was a key element of the airport's Master Plan, approved by the Australian Government in 2003. Under Federal Law, developments at major privatised Australian airports do not require approval by local or state planning authorities.[41]
The business case for new parallel runway[42] was based on the premise of continuing growth in air traffic demand and assumed low fuel prices into the future. Criticisms of these assumptions[43] have already been vindicated by cutbacks on the part of numerous airlines in response to increasing fuel prices. On 13 April 2009, it was announced that the new parallel runway's construction would not commence till 2018 due to the global financial crisis.[44]
To help relieve congestion between Brisbane and the airport, the Queensland Government, Brisbane City Council, and a Theiss/John Holland/Macquarie Bank consortium (BrisConnections) are building the Airport Link project. It will include the longest tunnel in Australia (over 8 km; 6 lanes) from the interchange between the Inner City Bypass and Clem Jones Tunnel (the 2nd longest tunnel in Australia) to the Airport Flyover over an improved Gateway Overpass which will lead on to Airport Drive, cutting 16 sets of traffic lights. It is due for completion by mid 2012.[45]
The new Northern Access Road project, completed in Dec 2009, is expected to dramatically reduce traffic congestion on Airport Drive. Moreton Drive, the five kilometre, multi-lane road network, linking Gateway Motorway with the airport Terminals, provides airport users with a second major access route to terminals and on-airport businesses.[46]
A government endorsed rat run has been used to aid the congestion at the Airport Drive/Gateway Motorway during peak traffic periods by giving an alternative route to Airport Drive via Sugarmill Road and Lomandra Drive. $2 million dollars has been put aside to upgrade the Lomandra Drive end of Sugarmill Road, and is due for completion in 2010. [47]
Due to the installation of traffic lights on the Airport Drive/Gateway roundabout, travel times from the airport to the city have now been increased by 30 minutes, and added approx A$15 to the cost of a taxi fare.[48]
Brisbane, along with Melbourne Airport, Perth Airport and Sydney Airport, are having terminal modifications to accommodate the new Airbus A380. The A380 first arrived in Australia at Brisbane on 14 November 2005. The first scheduled passenger service of the Airbus A380 arrived at Brisbane on 8 November 2010, when Emirates service EK413 travelling from Auckland to Sydney diverted due to poor weather in Sydney which resulted in the closure of the airport.
The Brisbane FIR consists of New South Wales north of Sydney, all of Queensland, most of the Northern Territory and the northern half of Western Australia. It also contains the Australian Tasman Sea airspace. Brisbane Centre is located adjacent to Brisbane Tower at Brisbane Airport. It also contains Brisbane Approach.
Due to the nature of the airspace it controls most international flights in and out of Australia (except Indian Ocean flights), and domestic flights operating to airports within the FIR. From Brisbane Centre, Airservices Australia manages the airspace over the northern half of Australia, representing 5 per cent of the world’s total airspace.[49] As only two of eight capitals are located in the Brisbane FIR, it handles a lesser volume of traffic than Melbourne Centre. However, Sydney is on the border of the two FIRs, and thus Brisbane Centre has control of flights arriving or departing in Sydney from the North.
Brisbane Airport, along with Sydney Airport, Melbourne Airport and Perth Airport, have had terminal modifications to accommodate the new Airbus A380, The A380 first arrived at Brisbane on 14 November 2005. Brisbane Airport's annual passenger numbers are expected to reach more than 25.6 million by 2015 and around 50 million by 2035[50] Brisbane Airport recorded more than 18.5 million passengers in 2007–08. 4.1 million of those were international, with the remaining 14.4 million being domestic[51]
|
|
Alternative Airports to Brisbane Airport
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||