Sunshine Coast Airport
Sunshine Coast Airport | |||||||||||
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Coordinates | 26°36′12″S 153°05′30″E / 26.60333°S 153.09167°E | ||||||||||
Website | sunshinecoastairport.com.au | ||||||||||
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Statistics (2021-22) | |||||||||||
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Sunshine Coast Airport (formerly Maroochydore Airport) (
The airport serves as a gateway to holiday destinations such as
Sunshine Coast Airport was the
History
The
A terminal building was constructed in 1979. The runway was extended to 1,797 m (5,896 ft) in 1983 to allow the operation of Fokker F28 Fellowship and BAe 146 regional jets. The runway was upgraded again in 1993 to allow the operation of larger Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 jets. A new terminal building was completed in 1997 and the airport was renamed Maroochydore-Sunshine Coast Airport.[4]
By 2009, the airport handled 916,845 annual passengers, making it the 15th busiest airport in Australia.
International flights and growth
In February 2012, Air New Zealand announced plans to launch a new twice-weekly service between Auckland and Sunshine Coast Airport, to operate seasonally from July to September,[7] the first time scheduled International flights had operated from Sunshine Coast Airport. Customs, immigration and quarantine facilities were added to the terminal ahead of the first flight. On 12 November, Air New Zealand announced that the season would be extended in 2013, with flights operating from June to October.[8] Air New Zealand later committed to operating the services until at least 2017.[9]
2016 saw domestic airlines Jetstar, QantasLink and Virgin Australia significantly increase their capacity through Sunshine Coast Airport, adding more than 65,000 extra seats. 24,200 more seats were added between Sydney and Sunshine Coast, 16,920 extra on the Melbourne to Sunshine Coast route, while Jetstar introduced direct flights to Adelaide, providing 23,400 seats on the new route.[10] A total of 244,708 passengers arrived or departed from Sunshine Coast Airport during the summer season from December 2015 and February 2016.
On 9 February 2017, Sunshine Coast Regional Council mayor Mark Jamieson announced that Palisade Investment Partners had been awarded a 99-year lease to operate the airport, with the lease running until 2116.[11]
Expansion and reconfiguration
To address capacity issues at the airport, John Holland Group were contracted to undertake a major upgrade and expansion project in 2018.[12] As part of the construction, the existing 1,797 m (5,896 ft) runway 18/36, which handled all commercial jet traffic was decommissioned and converted to a taxiway. Its replacement was a new 2,450 m (8,040 ft) NW-SE runway (Runway 13/31). To allow for this, the 650 m (2,130 ft) general aviation runway (12/30) was also removed.[13][14] The scope of these works were controversial amongst airport tenants and communities that would be overflown by the new flight paths, becoming the subject of numerous legal challenges.
A series of environmental considerations were given to the expansion, including the Coordinator-General's recommendation to ensure the requirements for tidal flap to allow conveyance of floodwater and avoid submergence of mangrove roots for extended periods.[15] Other requirement such as offsetting to provide additional critical habitat for vulnerable flora and fauna including revegetation of sections to provide adequate and alternate suitable wildlife corridors for species.[15]
On 14 June 2020, the new runway (13/31) was opened, allowing operation of larger wide body aircraft such as
During 2019, Air New Zealand had already extended seasonal flights to Auckland from 2020 through to 2023 with the backing of the Queensland Government, operating from April to October[18] Following completion of the airport's expansion, on 25 June 2021 a further agreement was announced that secured year-round flights on the route.[19]
In February 2022, low-cost carrier Bonza announced that the airport would become its headquarters and one of two main bases for its planned start-up operation.[20]
Terminal and facilities
The airport has a single terminal, which can be split into separate international and domestic areas to accommodate Air New Zealand's Auckland flights. The single-storey building has no aerobridges; passengers must take a short walk across the tarmac to reach their aircraft.
There are no airline lounges within the terminal, however the public departure lounge provides seating available for about 300 people. Free
Statistics
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Year | Domestic | International | Total | Change |
---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | 279,546 | - | 279,546 | -1.3% |
1999 | 298,533 | - | 298,533 | 6.8% |
2000 | 268,302 | - | 268,302 | -10.1% |
2001 | 230,697 | - | 230,697 | -14.0% |
2002 | 241,700 | - | 241,700 | 4.8% |
2003 | 392,133 | - | 392,133 | 62.2% |
2004 | 516,167 | - | 516,167 | 31.6% |
2005 | 764,137 | - | 764,137 | 48.0% |
2006 | 846,723 | - | 846,723 | 10.8% |
2007 | 868,169 | - | 868,169 | 2.5% |
2008 | 950,523 | - | 950,523 | 9.5% |
2009 | 859,007 | - | 859,007 | -9.6% |
2010 | 863,669 | - | 863,669 | 0.5% |
2011 | 857,415 | - | 857,415 | -0.7% |
2012 | 789,662 | 5,713 | 795,375 | -7.2% |
2013 | 858,099 | 8,405 | 866,504 | 8.9% |
2014 | 862,100 | 10,248 | 872,348 | 0.7% |
2015 | 888,106 | 13,598 | 901,704 | 3.4% |
2016 | 992,752 | 17,506 | 1,010,258 | 12.0% |
2017 | 1,112,965 | 13,719 | 1,126,684 | 11.5% |
2018 | 1,220,602 | 14,303 | 1,234,905 | 9.6% |
2019 | 1,269,952 | 13,084 | 1,283,036 | 3.9% |
2020 | 327,378 | - | 327,378 | -74.5% |
2021 | 576,199 | 512 | 576,711 | 76.2% |
2022 | 1,485,533 | 7,902 | 1,493,435 | 159.0% |
2023 | 1,834,532 | 12,783 | 1,847,315 | 23.6% |
Rank | Airport | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | % Change (12 month) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sydney | 472,200 | 513,600 | 558,500 | 628,800 | 665,000 | 155,900 | 227,000 | 684,000 | 201% |
2 | Melbourne | 379,400 | 427,100 | 458,100 | 544,900 | 558,000 | 134,400 | 270,000 | 724,000 | 168% |
3 | Auckland | 8,026 | 10,228 | 13,728 | 14,303 | 13,084 | 0 | 512 | 7,902 | 1,443% |
Total | 859,626 | 950,928 | 1,030,328 | 1,188,003 | 1,236,084 | 290,300 | 497,512 | 1,415,902 | 184% |
Airlines and destinations
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Air Fraser Island | Charter: K'gari (Fraser Island)[25] |
Air New Zealand | Seasonal: Auckland[26][27][28] |
Alliance Airlines | Emerald[29] Charter: Brisbane |
Jetstar | Adelaide,[33] Melbourne, Sydney |
Qantas | Melbourne, Sydney |
QantasLink | Canberra,[34] Sydney[35] Seasonal: Melbourne[36] |
Virgin Australia | Melbourne, Sydney |
Ground transport
The airport is served by local taxi service Suncoast Cabs and by Sunbus Sunshine Coast's route 622 from Sunshine Plaza to Noosa Junction.[37]
See also
References
- ^ YBSU – Sunshine Coast (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 21 March 2024
- ^ Bureau of Infrastructure & Transport Research Economics(BITRE). 7 December 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Movements at Australian Airports" (PDF). Airservices Australia. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Airport History". Sunshine Coast Airport. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011.
- ^ "Maroochydore name change" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ^ a b "About Sunshine Coast Airports" (PDF). Sunshine Coast Regional Council. January 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2012.
- ^ "NZ flights to start at $149". Sunshine Coast Daily. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012.
- ^ "Air New Zealand flights returning in 2013" (PDF). Sunshine Coast Regional Council. November 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2013.
- ^ Auckland – Sunshine Coast Direct Flights Archived 26 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Sunshine Cost Council
- ^ "Huge flight boost for southeast Queensland". 12 October 2016. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
- ^ "Sunshine Coast will lease Maroochydore airport for 99 years, council to be paid $605m" Archived 9 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine by Tony Moore, Brisbane Times, 9 February 2017
- ^ "Breaking: John Holland ground to build Sunshine Coast Airport expansion". 28 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ^ "About the project". Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ "Aerodrome Chart (YBSU)" (PDF). Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ a b Sunshine Coast Airport Expansion project, Coordinator-General’s evaluation report on the environmental impact statement May 2016 Accessed: 21 September 2020
- ^ Master Plan Archived 8 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine Sunshine Coast Airport September 2007
- ^ Region set to soar as runway turns Council’s vision into reality Sunshine Coast Council 12 June 2020
- ^ "New kiwi flights to generate $11 million for the Sunshine Coast". Queensland Government. October 2019.
- New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ "Bonza Announces New Destinations". Bay939Radio. Bay939. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Sunshine Coast Airport Guide". Sleeping in Airports. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Airport Traffic Data 1985 to 2022". Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- ^ Domestic aviation activity Annual 2014–15 Archived 29 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Department of Infrastructure & Regional Development
- ^ Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities. "Domestic aviation activity 2017–18" (PDF). Australian Domestic Aviation Activity Annual Publications. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ "Fraser Island Flights - Fly in and Land on Fraser Island". 22 June 2022.
- ^ "Air NZ's alliance with Virgin Australia to Sunshine Coast – Scoop News". Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- ^ "Queensland gets year-round flights with Air New Zealand to Gold Coast, Cairns, Sunshine Coast". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ "Back To Business: Air New Zealand Reboots Its Trans-Tasman Network". Simple Flying. 16 April 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ "Alliance launches four new roures". Australian Aviation. 23 February 2021.
- ^ "Bonza Outlines Operational Network in 1H23". Aeroroutes. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ "Bonza announces new leisure playground for Coast travellers". Sunshine Coast News. 20 September 2023.
- ^ "Bonza adds popular new route to network, starting from $89". News.com.au. 2 February 2024.
- ^ Moore, Tony (14 May 2016). "Adelaide latest stop for Australia's fastest-growing airport". Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- ^ "Qantas adds three new routes from Canberra". Qantas. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ "Smarter flying sees Qantas back to the Sunshine Coast". Qantas. 22 July 2015. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ "Flying Kangaroo hops to Sunshine Coast". Qantas. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ "Route 622 timetable". Translink.
External links
Media related to Sunshine Coast Airport at Wikimedia Commons