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Revision as of 07:48, 15 February 2007

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Sydney Airport Control Tower

Sydney (Kingsford Smith) International Airport, or Sydney Airport (IATA: SYD, ICAO: YSSY), is located in the Sydney suburb of Mascot. It is the major airport serving Sydney, and is a major hub for Qantas. Sydney Airport is the world's oldest continually operated commercial airport, and the busiest commercial airport in Australia, handling in excess of 26 million passengers per year, which is expected to rise to over 68 million by 2020.

Situated next to Botany Bay, Kingsford Smith has three runways, colloquially known as the "East-West" and two "North-South" runways. In terms of land area, it is the smallest capital city airport in Australia.

Sydney Domestic Terminal entrance
Terminal Control Unit including the old Control Tower, Sydney Airport - operated by Airservices Australia

Transport

The airport is accessible by road and via the Airport Link underground rail line. The International railway station and Domestic railway stations are situated below the respective terminals. Sydney Buses runs the 400 route (Burwood to Bondi Junction) and the 410 route (Rockdale to Bondi Junction) which both stop at all three airport terminals.

History

Originally declared an aerodrome in 1920 (then known as Sydney Airport), it was renamed Sydney (Kingsford Smith) International Airport in 1953, in honour of Charles Kingsford Smith, a pioneering Australian aviator.

The airport's first runways were built in 1933, all in gravel. By the 1960s the need for a new international terminal had become apparent, and work commenced in late 1966. The new terminal was officially opened on May 3, 1970, by Queen Elizabeth II. In the 1970s the north-south runway was expanded to become one of the longest runways in the southern hemisphere.

In the 1960s, the limitations of having only two runways that crossed each other had become apparent. Various governments grappled (or failed to grapple) with the issue of Sydney's airport capacity for decades. Eventually the highly controversial decision to build a third runway (parallel to the existing main "North-South" runway, but entirely on land reclaimed from Botany Bay) was taken, and the much-anticipated proposed new airport on the outskirts of Sydney was shelved indefinitely.

Even once the "third runway" (as it is universally known to Sydneysiders), had been built, it remained a political hot potato because of increased aircraft movements, especially over many of Sydney's inner suburbs. The 1990s saw the formation of the No Aircraft Noise Party, which was something of a local force, even in federal elections. However, there has been general acquiesence in the arrangements for Sydney Airport that were introduced by the Howard government shortly after its election, namely to -

  1. maintain curfews (extremely limited jet movements 2300-0600)
  2. rotate runway operation, and fan flightpaths out (instead of concentrating them, as had previously been the case)
  3. use, whenever possible, flightpaths over water, especially Botany Bay
  4. continue the use of noise abatement (reduced power settings, etc) on departure.

In 2002 the Australian Government sold Sydney Airports Corporation Limited (later renamed to Sydney Airport Corporation Limited), the management authority for the airport, to Southern Cross Airports Corporation Holdings Ltd. This is majority owned by a number of Macquarie Bank infrastructure investment funds. It holds a 99 year lease on the airport which remains Crown land. This has resulted in significant cost increases to airport users.

Since the international terminal's original completion, it has undergone two large expansions, and the entire airport is currently undergoing a large expansion stretching over twenty years (2005 - 2025). This expansion will include the addition of a high-rise office block, the construction of a multi-level car park, the expansion of both the international and domestic terminal. This latest expansion - and other plans and policies by Macquarie Bank for airport operations - are seen as controversial, due to the fact that the local councils, which usually act as the local planning authority for such developments, have no jurisdiction over the airport. As of April 2006, some of the proposed development has been scaled back.[1]

Terminals

International Terminal forecourt
Sydney International Terminal
International Terminal, Qantas check-in lounge
International Terminal car park
Memorial to Charles Kingsford Smith, Sydney International Terminal
Qantas AVRO 504K replica, first plane flown by Qantas, Domestic Terminal

Kingsford Smith International Airport has three main terminals, referred to as T1 (or, to most locals, the "International Terminal"), T2 (the former "Ansett Domestic Terminal"), and T3 (the former "Qantas Domestic Terminal").

International Terminal 1

Domestic Terminal 2

  • Aeropelican Airlines (Williamtown)
  • Air Link (Bathurst, Dubbo, Mudgee)
  • Alliance Airlines
  • Big Sky Express (Grafton, Gunnedah, Inverell, Taree)
  • Qantas
    • Jetstar (Adelaide, Avalon, Ballina, Cairns, Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, Hervey Bay, Hobart, Launceston, Sunshine Coast, Proserpine, Rockhampton, Townsville)
    • QantasLink (Albury, Armidale, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Lord Howe Island, Moree, Narrabri, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga)
  • REX (Regional Express) (Albury, Ballina, Cooma, Dubbo, Griffith, Lismore, Merimbula, Mildura, Moruya, Narrandera, Orange, Parkes, Wagga Wagga)
  • Virgin Blue (Adelaide, Ballina, Brisbane, Cairns, Coffs Harbour, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hervey Bay, Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne, Perth, Sunshine Coast, Townsville)
A Jetstar Boeing 717-200 at Kingsford Smith International Airport in Sydney, Australia.
An OzJet Boeing 737 at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport.

Qantas Terminal 3

  • Qantas (Domestic) (Adelaide, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, Sunshine Coast, Townsville)

Sydney second airport proposals

The proposal for Sydney's second airport has existed for some time.

Sydney has been seeking a second airport since 1946. Today, the need grows more and more dire, as Sydney's congested skies become increasingly congested. As a tentative first step, the Commonwealth has bought most of the land needed for a second airport, at Badgery's Creek, just south-west of Sydney. There are currently three proposals for the layout of the airport - A,B and C. All feature the terminals in the centre of the proposed three runways (in most cases).

The site is classed as moderately distant from Sydney. Access to the airport would be gained by an expressway branching off the Sydney Orbital(completed 2006). The expressway would initially have four lanes, but would eventually be upgraded to a six lanes. The construction of the second airport is not likely to start before 2020.

See also

References

  1. ^ Sydney Morning Herald. April 21, 2006 issue

External links

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