Christmas Island Airport
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Christmas Island International Airport is an
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
located on
Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...
, a
territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
of
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 ...
in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. The island is located northwest of the Western Australian city of
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 ...
, south of the
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n capital,
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, and east-northeast of the
Cocos (Keeling) Islands ) , anthem = "''Advance Australia Fair''" , song_type = , song = , image_map = Australia on the globe (Cocos (Keeling) Islands special) (Southeast Asia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , map_caption = ...
. Located in an Australian territory, the airport is classified as a Category 2
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
for all arrivals, including those from Australia. It is owned by the Commonwealth through the
Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development was an Australian Government department that existed between September 2013 and December 2017. Matters dealt with by the department included: infrastructure planning and coordination; tra ...
and is operated under contract by Toll Remote Logistics.


History

From the late 1940s, when the island was still a British colony administered by
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and the
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
Administration, it was serviced occasionally by
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF)
Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...
flying boats before the construction of the airport.


''Tampa'' crisis

A brief revival of the "old days" happened in 2001 during the ''Tampa'' crisis when the heightened
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
(RAAF) traffic was complemented by a large number of
Department of Immigration and Citizenship The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) was an Australian government department that existed between January 2007 and September 2013, that was preceded by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and was s ...
(DIAC) and media charters. During this incident, traffic at the airport is said to have been "near-continuous".


Satellite launch facility

After the closure of the casino, the resort was taken over by the Asia Pacific Space Centre, which developed plans for a satellite launch facility on Christmas Island. The company, with solid financial participation from the Australian Government, had planned to start satellite launches in 2004. Technical staff was to include 350-400 Russian rocket scientists and engineers, and componentry was to be flown in on
Antonov An-124 The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (; russian: Антонов Ан-124 Руслан, , Ruslan; NATO reporting name: Condor) is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrain ...
and
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
freighters. To achieve this, the airport would need major extensions, and the Government allocated around A$55m to the task. This included a runway extension, plus additional taxiways, apron space, and other infrastructure.


Facilities


Runway

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 one
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 ...
designated 18/36 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 a 2.3% mid-runway gradient.


Terminal

As the Indian Ocean Territories Islands are duty-free, the airport terminal has a
Duty-free shop A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who ...
and licensed kiosk. In 2018 the airport operator, Toll Remote Logistics, introduced complimentary public
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
. This was the first time
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
had been offered for free at the airport on an island that only has a 2G mobile network.


Airlines and destinations

Traffic to and from the airport varies greatly. Along with regular flights to the Australian mainland, the airport receives weekly open charter flights from
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
with
Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam and the second-largest airline of Indonesia after Lion Air, operat ...
and fortnightly open charter flights from
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
with
Batik Air Malaysia Batik Air Malaysia (formerly known as Malindo Air) is a Malaysian full service carrier, an associate carrier of Indonesian Lion Air Group, with headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. The original name Malindo signifies a cooperative ...
. Historically airlines such as
Indonesia AirAsia PT Indonesia AirAsia, operating as Indonesia AirAsia, is a low-cost airline based in Tangerang, Indonesia. It operates scheduled domestic, international services and is an Indonesian associate carrier of Malaysian low-fare airline AirAsia. Its ...
,
Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (The ...
and
SilkAir SilkAir Singapore Private Limited, operating as SilkAir, was a Singaporean airline with its head office in Changi, Singapore. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and at its peak operateed scheduled passenger services from Si ...
travelled to the island. Tourist attractions such as the migration of the Christmas Island red crab and the island's
Christmas Island Resort The Christmas Island Resort, often called the Christmas Island Casino, is a holiday resort on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean lying about 300 km south of Java and 1600 km north-west of the Aus ...
have caused spikes in traffic levels. The construction of an immigration detention centre on the island resulted in a temporary increase in RAAF and DIMIA arrivals.


Statistics

Christmas Island International Airport served 26,723
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 during
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 ...
2017–2018.
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"


Fees and Charges

Fees and charges at the airport are set by the Commonwealth of Australia and are considerably higher than other airports, especially for small aircraft. The high cost per movement for aircraft less than 20,000kg of AUD $300 effectively ensures that scenic flights and smaller aircraft use is discouraged.


See also

*
List of airports in territories of Australia This is a list of airports in the territories of Australia, excluding the Northern Territory, for which there is a separate list. __TOC__ List of airports The list is sorted by the name of the community served, click the sort buttons in the t ...
* Aviation transport in Australia


References


Notes


Further reading

*


External links

*
Christmas Island Airport case study
{{authority control Airports in Christmas Island International airports in Australia