Cairns Airport

Cairns Airport
IATA: CNS – ICAO: YBCS
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	North Queensland Airports Group
Serves	Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Location	Aeroglen
Hub for	Jetstar Airways Skytrans Airlines
Focus city for	Qantas
Elevation AMSL	10 ft / 3 m
Coordinates
Website	cairnsairport.com.au
Map
YBCS Location in Queensland
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 15/33 3,156 10,354 Asphalt
Statistics (2013-2014)
Passengers 4,556,271 Aircraft movements (2011) 43,006
Source: AIP Enroute Supplement passenger and aircraftmovements from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE)

Cairns Airport (IATA: CNS, ICAO: YBCS) is an international airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Formerly operated by the Cairns Port Authority, the airport was sold by the Queensland Government in December 2008 to a private consortium. It is the seventh busiest airport in Australia. The airport is located 2.3 nautical miles (4.3 km; 2.6 mi) north northwest of Cairns or 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the Cairns central business district, in the suburb of Aeroglen. The airport lies between Mount Whitfield to the west and Trinity Bay to the east.

The airport has direct flights to 18 international and 30 domestic destinations and many general aviation flights including a number of helicopter operators. Flights are operated to all major Australian cities and tourist destinations, regional communities in Far North Queensland, and a number of international destinations in the Asia-Pacific region with connections to the rest of the world. The airport formed the main base for Australian Airlines prior to its ceasing of operations in June 2006 (the airport remains a major port for parent company Qantas). It is also a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia and the search and rescue helicopters of the State Emergency Service. In the 12 months ending 30 June 2013 Cairns Airport had 4.1 million passengers, up 263,532 from the previous year.

History

Aerial View of runway and terminal to the right

View of Cairns international terminal with an Air New Zealand 767, Air Niugini F100, a Jetstar A321 and 2 Jetstar A330s, 11 June 2010

Cairns Airport goes back to 1928 when Tom McDonald started flying his de Havilland Gipsy Moth off a sand ridge near the present airport. He could only land and take off between high tides. During one emergency, Tom was forced to take off from beer barrels.

During World War II the Australian Government bought the airport for use by the Royal Australian Air Force. In 1943, the main runway was hard surfaced and lengthened to handle military aircraft. It was also used by the United States Army Air Forces as a transport base, with the 33d Troop Carrier Squadron (374th Troop Carrier Group) operating from the base during 1942. In 1949, the main runway was lengthened to 1,730 m (5,680 ft) to accommodate larger aircraft. During the mid-1960s, the airport was upgraded and the runway further lengthened to 2,020 m (6,630 ft) and strengthened so jets could land.

During the 1970s, Australia's two domestic airlines Trans Australia Airlines and Ansett provided regular scheduled services to most Australian capital cities and also Papua New Guinea, while in 1975 Air Niugini became the first international airline to commence flights out of Cairns, to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. In 1982, redevelopment of the airport commenced. This involved further lengthening of the runway to 2,600 m (8,500 ft) (making it the longest runway in Queensland) and construction of a new terminal building. The first stage of the redevelopment was finished in 1984 and a dual International and Domestic Terminal was opened. At the end of the decade the second stage of redevelopment was completed. This included a new separate International Terminal, associated aprons and taxiways, costing an estimated $80 million. The main runway was again extended, to 3,196 m (10,486 ft). In 1997, the third stage of redevelopment was completed, during which a three-storey Airport Administration Centre was constructed providing 4,000 m² (43,000 sq ft) of office space.

A$200 million redevelopment of the Domestic terminal started in August 2007 and was completed in 2010. Check-in facilities were expanded into a common-user facility for all airlines, and the building enlarged. Five new jet bridges replaced the existing three old bridges. In January 2010, Auckland International Airport Limited announced that it had purchased 24.6 per cent of North Queensland Airports (NQA), operator of the airports at Cairns and Mackay, for about $132 million.

Terminals

The airport has two passenger terminals on the eastern side of the airport on reclaimed mangrove swamp. They are approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) north of the Cairns Central Shopping Centre and situated on Airport Avenue off Sheridan Street (Captain Cook Highway). The terminals are in two separate buildings 200 m (660 ft) from one another. The Domestic terminal is number 2 it has five jet bridges and 17 gates, while the International Terminal is number 1 it currently has six jet bridges and ten gates in total.

Runways

The airport has a single runway which is 3,156 m (10,354 ft) long. The flight path to the north of the main runway is located directly overhead Cairns' northern beach suburbs. The flight path to the south is located directly over central Cairns. A smaller 925 m (3,035 ft) runway that was used for general aviation lies to the east; its final approach crossed the main runway. As of April 2011 this runway is closed and not expected to reopen.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Airfast Indonesia	Timika	International
Air New Zealand	Seasonal: Auckland	International
Air Niugini	Port Moresby, Rabaul	International
Airnorth	Brisbane West Wellcamp-Toowoomba (begins 14 March 2016),Darwin, Gove	Domestic
Alliance Airlines	Charter: Cloncurry, Groote Eylandt, Lawn Hill, Mount Isa, Townsville, Trepell	Domestic
Asia Pacific Airlines	Tabubil	International
Cathay Pacific	Hong Kong	International
China Eastern Airlines	Seasonal: Shanghai-Pudong	International
China Southern Airlines	Seasonal: Guangzhou	International
Hinterland Aviation	Cooktown, Dunk Island, Lizard Island	General Aviation
Hinterland Aviation	Daru, Kiunga, Tabubil	International
Hong Kong Airlines	Hong Kong	International
Jetstar Airways	Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney	Domestic
Jetstar Airways	Denpasar, Melbourne, Osaka-Kansai, Tokyo-Narita, Sydney	International
Philippine Airlines	Auckland, Manila	International
Qantas	Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney	Domestic
QantasLink operated by Cobham	Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Darwin	Domestic
QantasLink operated by Sunstate Airlines	Brisbane, Hamilton Island, Horn Island, Mackay, Moranbah, Rockhampton, Townsville, Weipa	Domestic
QantasLink operated by Sunstate Airlines	Port Moresby	International
Regional Express Airlines	Bamaga, Normanton, Mornington Island, Burketown, Doomadgee, Mount Isa, Townsville	Domestic
SilkAir	Singapore	International
Skytrans	Aurukun, Coen, Kowanyama, Lockhart River, Pormpuraaw, Weipa	Domestic
Tigerair Australia	Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney	Domestic
Virgin Australia	Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney	Domestic

Notes

• ^1 These flights may make an intermediate stop en route to and/or from their listed final destination; however the airlines have no traffic rights to carry passengers solely between Cairns and the intermediate Australian stop.

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Australian air Express	Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney
Toll Aviation	Brisbane, Darwin, Sydney

Emergency service

• Emergency Management Queensland (Emergency Medical Retrieval Services)
• Royal Flying Doctor Service (Emergency Medical Retrieval and outback medical clinics)

Operations

Cairns Airport statistics
Year	Total passengers
2010–11	3,859,339
2009–10	3,550,240
2008–09	3,653,544
2007–08	3,777,154
2006–07	3,782,183
2005–06	3,731,178
1999–2000	2,718,378
1994–95	2,418,847
1989–90	840,392
1985–86	578,294

Busiest domestic routes into and out of Cairns Airport (YE 2014)

Rank	Airport	Number of Passengers	% change
1	Queensland, Brisbane	1,256,100	4.7
2	New South Wales, Sydney	1,000,900	2.3
3	Victoria, Melbourne	713,200	5.3

Busiest international routes into and out of Cairns Airport (Financial Year 2012–13)

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% change
1	Japan, Tokyo-Narita	148,878	1.1
2	Japan, Osaka-Kansai	98,936	13.6
3	Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby	87,381	14.8
4	Hong Kong, Hong Kong	57,143	2.0
5	New Zealand, Auckland	39,081	16.6
6	Guam, Guam	15,492	6.0
7	People's Republic of China, Shanghai	10,045	60.7
8	Papua New Guinea, Rabaul	3,606	20.5
9	Indonesia, Denpasar	348	74.2

Busiest international freight routes into and out of Cairns Airport (FY 2011)

Rank	Airport	Freight handled	% change
1	Hong Kong, Hong Kong	2,728.3	9.6
2	Japan, Tokyo-Narita	2,113.2	3.1
3	Japan, Osaka-Kansai	643.4	687.4
4	Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby	306.6	6.4
5	New Zealand, Auckland	131.3	7.5
6	Guam, Guam	19.2	12.4
7	Singapore, Singapore-Changi	0.0	100

Ground transport

Taxi

Ranks are located near both the International and Domestic Terminals. Cairns Taxis taxi ranks are located immediately outside the International and Domestic Terminals.

Bus

Airport shuttle bus services to hotels, city centre, Northern Beaches, Palm Cove, Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation are available.

Parking

Short-term and long-term parking, including a covered car park and parking for people with a disability are located within the public carparks adjacent to both the Domestic and International Terminals.

See also

• United States Army Air Forces in Australia (World War II)
• Transportation in Australia
• List of airports in Queensland

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

• Official website