Tamworth Airport is a regional airport serving Tamworth, a city in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It is located from the town centre, on New Winton Road. The airport is owned and operated by the

Tamworth Regional Council Tamworth Regional Council is a local government area in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is located adjacent to the New England Highway and the Main North railway line. It was established in Ma ...

and is listed as being west of the city. It is also known as Tamworth Regional Airport. Tamworth Airport is the northern base of the Hunter Region

Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service is a helicopter surf lifesaving service that operates in Australia. Founded in 1973 by Surf Life Saving Australia, a not-for-profit organisation, the service has carried out more than 80,000 fli ...

and the location for IFTT Flight Training College, and CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Tamworth

History

No. 6 Elementary Flying Training School of the

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

was formed in 1940, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, at the original airfield (located in what is now the Taminda industrial area) 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 ...

. Training included 50 hours of basic aviation instruction on a simple trainer like the

Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

. Pilots who showed promise went on to advanced training at a Service Flying Training School. Others went on to different specialties, such as Wireless Schools, Air Observer Schools or Bombing and Gunnery Schools. The RAAF airfield went on to become the original home of East West Airlines after WW2. In 1951 a decision was taken to relocate the aerodrome with the council commencing construction in 1952 and the official opening of the new airport in 1956. The airport received a further upgrade to medium jet standard in 1982. The addition of the parallel runway and associated facility expansion was undertaken between 1990 and 1993 as part of the establishment of the British Aerospace/

Ansett Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into adminis ...

pilot training joint venture which has evolved into the Bae systems college. Bae systems withdrew from Tamworth Airport in 2020 and the college facilities were re-branded as International Flight Training Tamworth (IFTT), under the ownership of Tamworth Regional Council, with CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Tamworth remaining on site. The Tamworth Airport terminal expansion was completed in June 2012, to facilitate the commencement of passenger screening. A further expansion was carried out in 2014 to accommodate operations by additional carriers. During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic the Flight training school, was converted into accommodation for the Local boarding school

Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School Farrer may refer to People * Alisha Farrer (born 1943), Australian actress and model * Austin Farrer (1904–1968), English theologian, philosopher, and friend of C. S. Lewis * Buster Farrer (1936-), South African cricketer * Claude Farrer (1862� ...

to comply with social distancing regulations

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

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. It has two

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 ...

paved

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: 12L/30R measuring and 12R/30L measuring . It also has two runways 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 brown

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: 18/36 measuring and 06/24 measuring . The latest terminal upgrade was completed in 2019 with an enlarged departure lounge, new cafe and hire car facilities, relocated and enlarged Qantas lounge in addition to a multipurpose function room and airport administration office.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Tamworth Airport was ranked 39th 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

{{Airports in New South Wales Airports in New South Wales Buildings and structures in Tamworth, New South Wales Former Royal Australian Air Force bases Airports established in 1956

History

Facilities

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

See also

References