Townsville Airport
Townsville Airport is North Queensland’s regional hub, welcoming almost 1.6 million passengers annually. Townsville’s industry make-up is diverse, providing a sustainable economic environment for the region. The airport is a jointly shared facility with the Department of Defence.
Townsville Airport has played a significant role in the growth of the aviation sector in the North Queensland region, and is home to the Northern Australian Aerospace Centre of Excellence (NAACEX). This unique project will develop an aero-hub, housing a cluster of aerospace and support industries that will service both commercial and defence clients. Townsville Airport has strong ties with the community sponsoring events across the tourism, culture and education sectors.
Townsville Airport has direct services to Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Cairns, Mackay, Gold Coast, Rockhampton, Mount Isa, Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek, Cloncurry, Longreach and Winton, as well as various mining charter operations.
Townsville’s industry makeup is diverse, providing a sustainable economic environment for the region. Being home to one of Australia’s largest military bases, major seaport and mineral processing plants have sealed Townsville’s continual growth and success.
Townsville Airport Milestones
Since QAL acquired Townsville Airport in 2005, the following significant milestones have been achieved:
- Growth in annual passenger movements from 670,673 in 2004 to almost 1.6 million in 2010.
- The airport has seen continual year on year passenger growth.
- Mining boom kicked off in 2004 – seeing a dramatic acceleration in passenger numbers. Townsville also became a major port for the fly-in, fly-out mining employment sector.
- In 2006 a general terminal upgrade took place to improve and modernise the terminal.
- A complete runway overlay costing at $20 million was completed in July 2006.
- A terminal refurbishment, adding new check in counters, the upgrade of concessionaires and new carpet was finished in February 2007.
- $2.7 million upgrade of the airport’s main car parks and taxi pick up areas in 2010.
- Work on the North Australian Aerospace Centre of Excellence (NAACEX) project commenced in 2007 with a view to accommodating a variety of aviation-related businesses, including housing the Australian Defence Force Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters and opening a dedicated aircraft maintenance facility including a state-of-the-art aircraft paint shop (through Worland Aviation for aircraft up to B737and A320 size).
- BAE Systems moved into the NAACEX precinct in 2009.
- Townsville Airport became a major sponsor for Townsville Enterprise Limited (TEL) and has since taken on additional sponsorships including North Queensland Tourism Awards, Julia Creek Dirt and Dust Festival, the Townsville Visitor Ambassador Program, and Aviation High Studies Program with Townsville State High School.
- Increased capacity from Virgin Blue, commencing direct services from Cairns, Canberra, Rockhampton and the Gold Coast in 2009.
- New international service from Townsville to Bali with Strategic Airlines will start in December 2010.
The Destination
Townsville is North Queensland’s regional hub. Townsville’s industry makeup is diverse including: a major military base, seaport, mineral processing plants and a large portion of North Queensland’s government administration is managed at Townsville. This has provided a sustainable economic environment for the region. Townsville is also growing as a tourism destination. Townsville Airport’s passenger mix is evenly spread between business and leisure, providing year round market stability. The itinerant population generates a strong visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market. Townsville’s inbound tourism market is growing as the destination develops.
Key figures
Runway length: 2438 metres
Annual passenger movements: 1,597,845 (FY)
Average flight movements (per FY): In excess of 57,200 flight movements
Number of direct flight destinations: 14
Airlines utilising the airport: Qantas, Qantaslink, Jetstar, Virgin Blue, Regional Express (Rex), Alliance Airlines, West Wing and various mining charters
Catchment population: 250,000 people
Benefits to airlines:
Quick turnarounds with short taxiing time, fast passenger processing, common-user terminal, no curfew restrictions, IT simplicity, financial incentives and marketing support for route development, onsite aircraft maintenance and painting facility, high yield market
For more information on Townsville Airport please visit www.TownsvilleAirport.com.au.