Bathurst Airport (New South Wales)

Last updated

Bathurst Airport
Bathurst Airport Terminal 2011.jpg
Bathurst Airport terminal building, 2011
Summary
Airport typePublic
Operator Bathurst Regional Council
Serves Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
Elevation  AMSL 2,435 ft / 742 m
Coordinates 33°24′36″S149°39′06″E / 33.41000°S 149.65167°E / -33.41000; 149.65167
Website bathurst.nsw.gov.au
Map
Australia New South Wales location map blank.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
YBTH
Location in New South Wales
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
mft
17/351,7055,594 Asphalt
08/261,3184,324 Asphalt
17/351,140 (approx)3,750 (approx)Grass
Statistics (FY 2010–11 [1] )
Passengers26,815
Aircraft movements1,976
Sources: AIP, [2] BITRE [3]

Bathurst Airport( IATA : BHS, ICAO : YBTH) is an airport serving Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.

Contents

Located in the Central Tablelands, Bathurst Airport is not served by any airline. The airport's history dates to just prior the Second World War when local politicians campaigned for an airport for Bathurst. The war prompted the Federal Government to establish the aerodrome during the war years, immediately following the war commercial air services commenced with passenger flights to Sydney. Today several flying schools operate at the airport and it is used frequently by trainee pilots during their navigation training. It is a popular destination for many pilots, mostly trainee pilots from Bankstown and Camden Airports in the Sydney Basin. [4]

The airport has two primary runways: one fully sealed and one partially sealed with a 150 meter section of grass at one end. The airport also has one secondary runway used for glider traffic. The main runway, taxiway and apron have lighting facilities which are pilot-activated. [5]

There were 8,000 landings in 2010 which included recreational flying, business jets, charters, regular passenger flights, emergency services, and Air Force flights. The airport is owned, managed and maintained by the Bathurst Regional Council. [6]

Facilities

Navigational aids [5]

History

On 2 December 1920 (predating the airport's opening) one of the earliest flights to land in Bathurst arrived with mail from Sydney. The aircraft, owned by the Bathurst Aviation Service Company, landed on a paddock at Kelso. [8] 17 years later, in July 1937, General Air Transport commenced a weekly freight service transporting fresh fish from Nowra to Bathurst. This weekly flight landed in a paddock near to town [9] and the lack of an aerodrome for Bathurst was noted in correspondence relating to this new air freight service.

The airport's history starts between 1937 and 1939 when the municipal council investigated several sites considered suitable for an aerodrome. What finally forced the federal government to act on a site was the Second World War; in 1942 a military airfield was opened at Raglan to take overflow traffic and aircraft parking from the overcrowded Richmond Air Base in Sydney's west. [8]

A chronological list of events that document the development of the airport is below:

The local PJ Moodie Bathurst Aero Club and the PJ Moodie Memorial Drive into the airport facilities are memorials to Alderman PJ Moodie who campaigned constantly for an airfield to be built at Bathurst. [8]

Airline and destination

Bathurst Airport inside terminal building, 2011 Bathurst NSW Inside Air Terminal.jpg
Bathurst Airport inside terminal building, 2011

Fly Pelican

FlyPelican flew return from Bathurst to Sydney Sunday to Friday starting on 5 September 2022. [17] The services were operated on the BAE Jetstream 32 and later increased to running daily. FlyPelican concluded services to Bathurst on 14 July 2023 stating that the route was no longer financially viable. [18]

Regional Express

Rex Airlines flew Bathurst to Sydney twice weekly (return) until 30 June 2022. [19] At its peak, services previously operated up to three times daily. The airline also formerly operated flights three times weekly between Bathurst and Parkes. Regional Express is based in Wagga Wagga with its major NSW hub in Sydney. REX flew Saab 340, 34 seat turboprop aircraft on the Bathurst route. [20]

Bathurst passenger traffic growth [3]
Year [1] PassengersYearly
growth %		Cumulative
growth %
2002–0313,9167.98%n/a
2003–0415,47810.09%17.3%
2004–0519,65921.27%34.9%
2005–0621,1376.99%39.4%
2006–0724,15212.48%47.0%
2007–0824,9413.16%48.7%
2008–0922,926−8.79%44.1%
2009–1024,3175.72%47.3%
2010–1126,8159.32%52.2%

Charter air services

Several companies provide charter services from the Bathurst Airport including Panorama Airways [21] and Smartair. [22]

Bathurst Aero Club

Bathurst Aero Club is a social club and training business founded in 1938 [4] which has a club house beside the passenger terminal. The club has regular fly days and cross country excursions. [23]

Flying Training

Several flying schools operate from the Bathurst Regional Airport, including Learn 2 Fly (18fifty3), Panair Panorama Airways and Ward Air. [4]

Australian Air Force Cadets

No. 328 Squadron of Number 3 Wing Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC) is based at the Bathurst Regional Airport. Parades and training sessions are held in rooms located in the Airport grounds. Squadrons from around NSW converge on Bathurst for gliding training during school holidays at four, two-week gliding courses each year operating primarily on the grass 17/35 strip and the grass on either side of the 08/26 runway. [24]

Accidents and Incidents

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Fiscal year 1 July – 30 June
  2. ↑ YBTH – Bathurst  (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia , effective 13 June 2024
  3. 1 2 "Airport Traffic Data 1985–86 to 2010–11". Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). May 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012. Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"
  4. 1 2 3 "Bathurst Airspace Review" (PDF). Airspace Review of Bathurst Aerodrome. CASA. June 2009. pp. ref. p4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Key Features". Bathurst Regional Council. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Airport Services". Bathurst Regional Council. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  7. ↑ "Latest Observations". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Theo Barker (1985). A Pictorial History of Bathurst. Robert Brown and Associates. pp. 115 of 198. ISBN   0-909197-97-0.
  9. ↑ "FRESH FISH". National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW : 1889 - 1954) . Bathurst, NSW: National Library of Australia. 21 July 1937. p. 5. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Airport History". Bathurst Regional Council. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  11. ↑ "Butler Air Services". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 April 1948. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  12. 1 2 "Butlers Air Transport". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 May 1949. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  13. ↑ "Airlines of N.S.W. May 1964 Timetable". Aussie airliners Website. May 1964. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  14. ↑ "Our Company History". Regional Express Airlines. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  15. ↑ "Lighting upgrade for city airport". Western Advocate. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  16. ↑ "FlyPelican to replace Rex on Sydney-Bathurst". Australian Aviation. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  17. ↑ "Airline says 'no longer financially viable' to offer Bathurst service". ABC News. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  18. ↑ McCormack, Michael (May 2020). "Regional air services vital to local communities" (PDF). Important information for residents across the Riverina and Central West. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  19. ↑ "REX Schedules". Regional Express. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  20. ↑ "Panorama Airways". Panorama Airways Website. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  21. ↑ "Smartair Services". Smartair. 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  22. ↑ "Bathurst Aero Club". Bathurst Aero Club Website. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  23. ↑ "3 Wing AAFC - NSW & ACT". Air Force Cadets Website. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  24. ↑ "Family mourns mum". Ninemsn website. 2008. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  25. ↑ "Investigation Number:AO-2008-076". ATSB. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  26. ↑ "Bathurst Strikemaster Accident". ATSB. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  27. ↑ "Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. 31 May 1974. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  28. ↑ "Investigation Number:197401441". ATSB. 20 October 1976. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
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