Bundaberg Airport is a regional airport serving

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

, a city in the Australian

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. It is located southwest of the city centre, on North Childers Road and Takalvan Street. The airport is owned and operated by the

Bundaberg Regional Council The Bundaberg Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is centred on the city of Bundaberg, and also contains a significant rural area surroundin ...

. It is also known as Bundaberg Regional Airport. The

Royal Flying Doctor Service The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...

has one of its nine Queensland bases at Bundaberg Airport. The Bundaberg Regional Council conducted major works on the runway, terminal, carpark and navigation aids in 2009–10 in an attempt to attract services using

A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

737 737 most commonly refers to: * Boeing 737, an American narrow-body passenger airplane ** Boeing 737 Classic ** Boeing 737 MAX ** Boeing 737 Next Generation * AD 737, a year in the common era * 737 BC, a year * 737 (number), a number 737 may als ...

type aircraft.

History

The airport was officially opened on 12 December 1931, by the Minister for Trade and Customs, the Hon.

Frank Forde Francis Michael Forde (18 July 189028 January 1983) was an Australian politician who served as prime minister of Australia from 6 to 13 July 1945. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1932 to 1946. He served as pri ...

, M.H.R., as a civilian airport. The airport was renamed in 1936 to '' Hinkler Airport'' after Bundaberg's famous aviator

Bert Hinkler Herbert John Louis Hinkler (8 December 1892 – 7 January 1933), better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator (dubbed "Australian Lone Eagle") and inventor. He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person ...

In February 2022,

Bonza Bonza Aviation Pty Ltd, operating as Bonza, is an Australian low-cost airline, headquartered on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sunshine Coast. Bonza commenced operations on 31 January 2023. History Background Bonza was founded in October 2021 ...

announced that the airport would become one of its 17 destinations with the airline planning to fly to Melbourne from Bundaberg

World War II

With the outbreak of World War II, it was decided as part of the

Empire Air Training Scheme The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

to requisition Bundaberg Airport and develop it as a

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) Flying Training School. Known as ''RAAF Station Bundaberg'' it was initially used in 1941 by No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School RAAF (12 EFTS), until 12 EFTS relocated to Lowood Aerodrome (located at Tarampa) on 12 January 1942. No. 8 Service Flying Training School RAAF then operated from the base.

Units Based at Bundaberg

No. 32 Squadron RAAF No. 32 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force unit based at RAAF East Sale in Victoria. It currently flies training and transport operations. The squadron was raised in February 1942 for service during World War II. Equipped with Lockheed Hud ...

('B' Flight) – 1 May 1943 – 4 September 1944 * No. 66 Squadron RAAF – 20 May 1943 – 6 January 1944 *

No. 71 Squadron RAAF No. 71 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) maritime patrol Squadron (aviation), squadron of World War II. It was formed in January 1943 and conducted patrols off the east coast of Australia until it was disbanded in August 1944. Hi ...

('B' Flight) – 1 May 1942 – 26 January 1943 * No. 8 Service Flying Training School RAAF – 14 December 1941 – 25 July 1945 * No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School RAAF – 16 October 1941 – 12 January 1942 * No. 88 Operational Base Unit RAAF – 14 June 1945 – 26 April 1946 *

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force ( nl, Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL) was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1939 until ...

Personnel & equipment pool – 25 June 1945 – 26 April 1946.

Bundaberg War Graves

Located within the Bundaberg General Cemetery, it contains the burial places of 46 soldiers and airmen of the Australian Forces and five airmen of the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

Post war

The

Department of Civil Aviation A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

took over Bundaberg Aerodrome on 31 July 1946.

Bundaberg City Council The City of Bundaberg was a local government area located in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the centre and inner suburbs of the regional city of Bundaberg. The city covered an area of , and existed as a lo ...

took over the airport in June 1983. A new terminal was opened on 9 May 1986. A major extension to Bundaberg Airport was completed in March 2010, making the runway jet capable and also including an expanded Terminal.

Facilities

The airport resides at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. It has two

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

s: 14/32 with an

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

surface measuring and 07/25 with a

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

ed grey

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

surface measuring .

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Bundaberg Airport was ranked 41st in Australia for the number of

revenue passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

s served in

financial year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many j ...

2010–2011.

Fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...

1 July – 30 June Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"

References

External links

RAAF Museum website
{{Airports in Queensland 1931 establishments in Australia Airports established in 1931 Airports in Queensland Buildings and structures in Bundaberg Bundaberg Former Royal Australian Air Force bases Queensland in World War II