Rottnest Island Airport is a small airport for light aircraft, situated about from the main settlement at Thomson Bay,

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island ( nys, Wadjemup), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, Rottnest is an A-class ...

and northwest of

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. Daily air services operate to the island. In the past these have been from

Perth Airport Perth Airport is an international, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth busiest airport in Australia measured by passenger movements and falls within the boundaries of ...

, but in recent years have been mainly from Jandakot. The single runway runs east–west and is situated behind Thomsons Bay and south of Government House Lake. Part of the lake was resumed for the construction of the airport runway. The Oliver Hill railway line runs south of and parallel to the runway. The airport opened in November 1930 and has been used regularly since then for private and small commercial operations, ferrying workers and holiday makers between

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and the island.

Commercial services

At one stage, the Perth to Rottnest flight was the world's shortest scheduled air route. Woods Airways which was run by pioneer aviator

Jimmy Woods Jimmy Woods (born October 29, 1934, in St. Louis, Missouri; died March 29, 2018, in Anchorage, Alaska) was an American jazz alto saxophonist. Woods played with the R&B band of Homer Carter in 1951, and served in the Air Force from 1952 to 1956 ...

, operated the Perth to Rottnest service from about 1948 with two war-surplus

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

(RAAF)

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

aircraft. The service closed in 1961 after concerns about the safety of the ageing aircraft and recurring conflict with 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, ...

over minor infringements of regulations. In 14 years of operations, it had made more than 13,000 crossings. Other services continued after Woods Airways departed and at various stages facilities were upgraded. Woods Airways and its owner were considered synonymous with the airport and in 1987 State Tourism Minister

Pam Beggs Pamela Anne Beggs (née Austin; born 23 May 1947) is a former Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1983 to 1993, representing the seat of Whitford. Beggs was born in Inverel ...

opened the renamed and upgraded Jimmy Woods Air Terminal in recognition.

MacRobertson Miller Airlines MacRobertson Miller Airlines (MMA) was a Western Australian airline that operated between 1927 and 1993. After being purchased by Ansett Transport Industries in 1968, it was eventually rebranded Ansett WA. History In 1919, Horrie Miller p ...

took over services after Wood's Airways using both

DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

and

Fokker F27 Friendship The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...

, until the route became uneconomical. Rottnest Airlines (aka "Quokka Airlines") operated the service until 1999 when it was taken over by Frank Stynman who operates a four and six-seater daily service from Jandakot called Rottnest Air-Taxi. Flying time is from 12 to 15 minutes.

Airlines and destinations

Accidents and incidents

* On 12 November 2006 a light twin engine charter aircraft carrying the pilot and five passengers crashed on the edge of the salt lake adjoining the airport. The plane split in two from the impact and two passengers were hospitalised. All escaped with minor injuries. It is believed that the aircraft suffered an engine failure, and the pilot was not able to maintain control.

Gallery

File:Rottnest Airport from the south.jpg, Airstrip and buildings from the south File:RottnestAirportFromAir.jpg, From the air File:Jimmy Woods, Rottnest airport-13.jpg, Jimmy Woods File:Woods Avro-Anson Rottnest3.jpg, Woods Airways VH-WAB, c.1953

References

External links