Emerald Airport

Emerald Airport
IATA: EMD – ICAO: YEML
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner/Operator		Central Highlands Regional Council[1]
Serves		Emerald, Queensland, Australia
Elevation AMSL		624 ft / 190 m
Coordinates		23°34′03″S 148°10′45″E / 23.56750°S 148.17917°E / -23.56750; 148.17917Coordinates: 23°34′03″S 148°10′45″E / 23.56750°S 148.17917°E / -23.56750; 148.17917
Map
YEML Location in Queensland
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
06/24	1,900	6,234	Asphalt
15/33	926	3,038	Gravel
Statistics (2010-2011[2])
Revenue passengers			165,785
Aircraft movements			3,126
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[3] BITRE[4]

Emerald Airport (IATA: EMD^[5], ICAO: YEML) is an airport serving Emerald,^[3] a town located in the Central Highlands district of Queensland, Australia. It is located 6 km (4 mi) south of the Emerald town centre, on Springsure Road.^[1][6] The airport is operated by the Central Highlands Regional Council.^[3]

Emerald Airport is currently serviced by QantasLink Dash 8 Q400's flying an average of five flights per day on weekdays, and three flights per day on weekends.^[7] As of 4 June 2012, QantasLink introduced their Fokker 100 fleet operated by Alliance Airlines to Emerald. This added four extra flights between Emerald and Brisbane giving the total number of return flights to Brisbane to 45 per week.^[8]

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation of 624 ft (190 m) above sea level. It has two runways: 06/24 with an asphalt surface measuring 1,900 m × 30 m (6,234 ft × 98 ft) and 15/33 with a gravel surface measuring 926 m × 18 m (3,038 ft × 59 ft).^[3]

Emerald Airport recently spent $7.7 million extending the terminal and refurbishing the old terminal. This was complete in the last quarter of 2010.^[9]

During this refurbishment, a new flight information system was created which is now displayed throughout the airport and online.^[10]

Airlines and destinations

Virgin Australia

Emerald Airport was one of more than 21 regional Australian airports assessed by Virgin Australia for its viability. If it were to service the airport it would be using Embraer E-Jets to service the route to/from Brisbane as neither the airport nor the town is big enough to handle the larger Boeing 737 aircraft commonly used by the airline. As of January 2010, no formal announcement had been made regarding the date of commencement of these services. However, in January 2010, the airline stated that it was looking to commence services to either Emerald, Gladstone or Bundaberg. Commencement of services to any of these three airports would break the monopoly that QantasLink currently holds on services.^[11] Of the three potential destinations, Emerald has the smallest population and Civil Aviation Safety Authority approval would also be required for services, as the runway is not wide enough to handle the Embraer 170 or Embraer 190.

On 4 October 2011, Virgin Australia and Skywest Airlines announced that, from 16 January 2012, double-daily 68-seat ATR-72 services would be operating on weekdays between Emerald and Brisbane to "bring choice and competitive fares for travel to and from this important mining hub".^[12] Passengers will receive a refreshment onboard this service, and it is expected that a Virgin Australia "Lounge" facility may open within the terminal, in order to further compete with the recently-opened Qantas Regional Lounge within the terminal. Virgin Australia Regional Airlines now offers up to 4 return services a day to Brisbane.

Statistics

Emerald Airport was ranked 37th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year^[2] 2010-2011.^[4]

See also

• List of airports in Queensland

References

v t e Airports in Australia Australian Capital Territory Canberra New South Wales Albury Armidale Ballina Bathurst Broken Hill Cobar Coffs Harbour Cooma Dubbo Grafton Griffith Lismore Lord Howe Island Merimbula Moree Moruya Mudgee Narrabri Narrandera Newcastle Orange Parkes Port Macquarie Sydney Tamworth Taree Wagga Wagga Northern Territory Alice Springs Ayers Rock Darwin Elcho Island Lake Evella Groote Eylandt Hooker Creek Maningrida McArthur River Mine Milingimbi Gove Ramingining Tennant Creek Victoria River Downs Queensland Aurukun Badu Island Bamaga (Northern Peninsula) Barcaldine Bedourie Birdsville Blackall Blackwater Boigu Island Boulia Brisbane Bundaberg Burketown Cairns Charleville Chinchilla Cloncurry Coconut Island Coen Cooktown Cunnamulla Darnley Island Dirranbandi Doomadgee Emerald Gladstone Gold Coast Great Barrier Reef (Hamilton Island) Hervey Bay Horn Island Hughenden Julia Creek Karumba Kowanyama Kubin (Moa Island) Lizard Island Lockhart River Longreach Mabuiag Island Mackay Moranbah Mornington Island Mount Isa Murray Island Normanton Palm Island Quilpie Richmond Rockhampton Roma Saibai Island St George Springvale Sunshine Coast Thangool Thargomindah Townsville Warraber Island Weipa Whitsunday Coast Windorah Winton Yam Island Yorke Island South Australia Adelaide Ceduna Coober Pedy Kingscote Mount Gambier Olympic Dam Port Augusta Port Lincoln Prominent Hill Whyalla Tasmania Burnie Devonport Flinders Island Hobart King Island Launceston Victoria Avalon Essendon Hamilton Melbourne Mildura Moorabbin Mount Hotham Portland Western Australia Albany Argyle Broome Busselton Carnarvon Esperance Geraldton Kalbarri Kalgoorlie-Boulder Karratha Kununurra Lake Gregory Laverton Leinster Leonora Meekatharra Mount Magnet Newman Paraburdoo Perth Port Hedland Ravensthorpe Shark Bay Springvale Wiluna This lists airports in Australia with scheduled passenger services. Airports with scheduled international services are bolded.