Proserpine Airport (also known as Whitsunday Coast Airport) is located in Gunyarra,

Whitsunday Region The Whitsunday Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas with a history extending back to the establishment of regional local government ...

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_ ...

, Australia, south of Proserpine. The airport serves the mainland and offshore islands with flights to Brisbane (

Alliance Airlines Alliance Airlines Pty Limited based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia with operational bases in Adelaide, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth, Townsville, Darwin and Rockhampton. Alliance Airlines owns and operates a fleet of Fokker and Embraer aircra ...

Jetstar Airways Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, operating as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline (self-described as "value-based") headquartered in Melbourne. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by airline Virgi ...

Virgin Australia Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an Australian-based airline. It is the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin Group, Virgin brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as ''Virgin Blue ...

), Sydney and Melbourne (

).Airport Flight Departures
Airport Guide In the year ending 30 June 2014, the airport handled 282,000 passengers.Whitsunday Council moves ahead with airport long-term leasing plan, stresses no sale
''

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

'' 23 October 2015 It is expected that by 2035 the airport will be handling in excess of 900,000 passengers.

History

Plans to build an airfield in Proserpine commenced in 1936, however construction was delayed due to a lack of funding. Construction of the airport finally began in 1950. The aerodrome was officially opened on Saturday 3 November 1951. In September 2001, the airport suffered heavily from the collapse of

Ansett Australia 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 ...

, who at the time were the biggest operator out of Proserpine with direct services to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. It also operated seasonal flights to the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. The airport underwent an upgrade in 2010. The upgraded terminal was officially opened on 20 December 2011. In January 2014,

Whitsunday Regional Council The Whitsunday Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas with a history extending back to the establishment of regional local government ...

announced it was to discuss with the

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy was form ...

the process for designating the airport precinct a PDA (Priority Development Area). This would make the future process of extending the runway the relatively short distance required to receive international services easier and to alleviate the industrial land crisis that has been affecting the Whitsunday Region for many years.

Airlines and destinations

Public Transport

Whitsunday Transit Whitsunday Transit is an Australian bus and coach operator services in the Whitsunday Region. It operates 1 service under contract to the Queensland Government under the Translink banner. History Whitsunday Transit for formed by Sydney bus prop ...

operate bus services from the airport.

Accidents and incidents

* On 9 August 1981 a Cessna 210 departed the airport for

Bankstown Airport Bankstown Airport is an airport and business park located in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, approximately from the Sydney Central Business District (CBD), Australia and west of Sydney Airport. It is situated on of land and has three paral ...

. The plane disappeared over the

Barrington Tops Barrington Tops is part of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia, between Gloucester and Scone. In 1934, the area was difficult to access and was described as being "not traceable to any man-made feature". Part of the area has ...

in NSW and has never been located (see

1981 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 disappearance The 1981 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 disappearance relates to the mysterious disappearance of a Cessna 210 flying from Whitsunday Coast Airport to Bankstown Airport via Gold Coast Airport. The last known contact with the aircraft was in the Barr ...

). * On 11 May 1990 a Cessna 500 Astec Eagle departed the airport for

Mareeba, Queensland Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the waters'' ...

containing local government staff, the plane subsequently crashed south of Mareeba Airport killing all 11 people on board. * On 2 April 2009 a

Robinson R22 The Robinson R22 is a two-seat, two-bladed, single-engine light utility helicopter manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company. It was designed in 1973 by Frank D. Robinson, and has been in production since 1979. Development The majority of fli ...

helicopter piloted by a 36-year-old man conducting training of a 26-year-old passenger crashed, the older man sustained head injuries.

References

External links

Dick Smith safety report on Proserpine TowerDepartment of Infrastructure and Planning - Whitsunday Coast Airport terminal upgrade
{{Airports in Queensland Airports established in 1946 Airports in Queensland Whitsunday Region 1946 establishments in Australia Proserpine, Queensland