| Darwin International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Darwin International Airport terminal | |||
| IATA: DRW – ICAO: YPDN
DRW
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military/Public | ||
| Operator | Northern Territory Airports[1] / RAAF Darwin | ||
| Serves | Darwin, Northern Territory | ||
| Location | Marrara, Northern Territory | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 103 ft / 31 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 11/29 | 11,004 | 3,354 | Asphalt |
| 18/36 | 5,000 | 1,524 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2007) | |||
| Total Passengers | 1,569,007 | ||
| Source: List of the busiest airports in Australia, NTArports Annual Report 2007 – 2008[2] | |||
Darwin International Airport (IATA: DRW, ICAO: YPDN) is the busiest airport serving the Northern Territory and the tenth busiest airport in Australia. It is the only airport serving Darwin.
The Airport is located in Darwin, Northern Territory's northern suburbs, 13 kilometres from the Darwin city centre, in the suburb of Marrara. It shares runways with the Royal Australian Air Force's RAAF Base Darwin.
Darwin Airport has an international terminal, a domestic terminal and a cargo terminal. Both of the passenger terminals have a number of shops and cafeterias.
The airport serves over 56,000 flights and 1,813,000 passengers per year.[3]
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In 1919, when the England to Australia air race was announced, Darwin Airport was established in the suburb of Parap to act as the Australian Terminal.[4] It operated as two airports, a civilian airport and a military field.
It frequently took hits from Japanese bombing through the Second World War, and was used by the Allies to project air power into the Pacific. The airport hosted Spitfires, Hudson Bombers, Kittyhawks, C-47s, B-24 Liberators, B-17 Fortresses and PBY Catalinas.[5]
In 1945 the Department of Aviation made the existing Darwin military airfield available for civil aviation purpose. As a result, the civilian airport at Parap was closed down and airport operations combined with the military airport.[4]
Between 1950 and 1974 Darwin Airport acted as the primary domestic and international airport for the Northern Territory and a very important stop for airlines flying between Australia, Asia and onwards to Europe. UTA,[6] BOAC,[7] Alitalia[8] and Air India[9] were some airlines that had scheduled services to Darwin. However the introduction of longer range aircraft in the 1970s meant that many airlines did not need to stopover in Darwin, and chose to cease services.
Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin in 1974 and flattened the city. The airport was used to ferry 25,628 people out of Darwin. Darwin Airport was extensively used to assist UN operations in East Timor from 1999, and to support medical evacuations following the 2002 Bali bombings.
The new passenger terminal, with four aerobridges, was opened in December 1991.
Darwin Airport has scheduled flights to destinations in the Northern Territory, around Australia and in Southeast Asia. Only one terminal is used for both domestic and international services. The terminal has several food outlets and shops, with duty-free shopping for international travellers. [10]
During 2005–06 a total of 1,440,000 passengers passed through Darwin International Airport which consisted of 334,000 international passengers and 1,106,000 domestic passengers.[11]
During the 2006–07 period there was a total of 1,654,000 passengers which consisted of 372,000 international passengers and 1,282,000 domestic passengers up 35.6 per cent.
During the 2007–08 period there was a total of 1,813,000 passengers.
The head office of Airnorth is on the airport property.[12]
| Year | Total Passengers | International | Domestic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 1,090,000 | 290,000 | 800,000 |
| 2002–03 | 1,085,000 | 210,000 | 875,000 |
| 2003–04 | 1,182,000 | 197,000 | 985,000 |
| 2004–05 | 1,386,000 | 281,000 | 1,105,000 |
| 2005–06 | 1,440,000 | 334,000 | 1,106,000 |
| 2006–07 | 1,654,000 | 372,000 | 1,282,000 |
| 2007–08 | 1,813,000 | – | – |
Commercial passenger aircraft most commonly seen at Darwin International Airport include Airbus A319, A320 and A330, Boeing 717, 737 and 767, Beechcraft 1900, Fokker 100, de Havilland Canada Dash 7, Bombardier Dash 8, Embraer E170, Embraer E190 and Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia. Darwin International Airport is extensively used by a wide range of general aviation aircraft as well as military aircraft that use the adjacent RAAF Base Darwin.
Until they were withdrawn from service, Concorde made sporadic visits to Darwin as well, having one of the few runways long enough in Australia to handle them.
Australian low-cost carrier, Jetstar Airways, has expressed a keen interest in developing Darwin Airport as a hub for its trips to Asia. With the close proximity to South-East Asia, Jetstar anticipates that it will be able to make flights using smaller aircraft, such as the Airbus A320 to fly anywhere within 4 to 5 hours from Darwin.[13] Most of the traffic on the routes will come from southern Australian cities. This will allow one-stop flights to less popular destinations. Destinations that have been considered include Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the Philippines and Kota Kinabalu International Airport in Malaysia. New low cost carrier Tiger Airways had also expressed interest in making Darwin Airport its second hub;[14] however, Tiger terminated its flights from Singapore to Darwin in October 2008, and for quite some time only operated domestic flights to Melbourne, however these flights have also now been terminated.
On 8 November 2007, it was announced that it had reached agreements for a $100 million home and lifestyle centre in Darwin Airports Business Park, which will be developed by retail developer Ticor Developments. The centre is being built on eight hectares of airport land at the major intersection of Bagot Road and McMillans Road and is due for completion by the end of 2009.[15]
In April 2009, Garuda Indonesia suspended the Denpasar service from Darwin after nearly 30 years of service, citing "economic reasons". The move had been protested by the Northern Territory government.[16][17] The suspension left Darwin Airport without any non-Australian carriers flying there until late 2010 when Indonesia AirAsia started service from Bali to Darwin.
The Australian Infrastructure Fund (AIX) is set to be taking a $60 million expansion of Darwin International Airport to cater for growing passenger numbers. This will provide a 65 percent increase in terminal floor space.[18]
In December 2010 the Federal Government approved the Darwin Airport Master Plan, a 20-year blueprint of how the airport will be affected by and manage issues such as aviation growth and the rise of Darwin Airport as an international transit point between Europe, Asia and Australia.[19]
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*Perth route became competitive in May 2009
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| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Airnorth | Broome, Elcho Island, Gold Coast, Groote, Karratha, Kununurra, Maningrida, McArthur River, Milingimbi, Mount Isa, Perth, Port Hedland, Port Keats, The Granites, Townville [begins 17 February] | Domestic |
| Airnorth | Dili | International |
| Indonesia AirAsia | Denpasar/Bali, | International |
| Jetstar Airways | Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Cairns, Melbourne, Sydney | Domestic |
| Jetstar Airways | Denpasar/Bali, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Singapore, | International |
| Qantas | Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne,[22] Perth, Sydney | Domestic |
| Qantas operated by QantasLink | Alice Springs, Cairns, Gove, | Domestic |
| Skywest Airlines | Broome, Kununurra, Perth | Domestic |
| Silk Air | Singapore [begins 26 March 2012][23] | International |
| Timor Air | Dili | International |
| Vincent Aviation | Bathurst Island, Groote Eylandt, Cairns | Domestic |
| Virgin Australia | Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney | Domestic |
