The first airport was established in the 1920s in the Thuringowa Shire south of the Ross River, in what is now the suburb of Murray. It was licensed as a civil airport by the Civil Aviation Branch in 1930, but it was never very satisfactory, as the ground was boggy for much of the year, and there was only room for one east-west runway. In 1938 a larger site was selected within the City of Townsville on the Town Common, adjacent to Ingham Road and the North Coast Railway. Two 800 yd (730 m) gravel runways were constructed, and the new Townsville Airport officially opened on its present site on 1 February 1939.
During the 1980's Townsville Airport expanded both Domestic and International Services being the first Regional Australian Airport to offer direct long-distance international flights. However during the 1990's the airlines began rationalising services in North Queensland which saw both Domestic and International services diminish.
Today Townsville Airport is the 11th busiest airport in Australia with all the major domestic carriers servicing the city along with a growing list of regional airline operators.
Townsville Airport is also home of the RAAF, along with RAAF Base Tindal and RAAF Base Darwin, one of northern Australia's primary defence installations. It is also headquarters for No. 1 Wing Australian Air Force Cadets and, along with Lavarack Barracks, establishes Townsville as a key northern stronghold.
It is home to:
- No 323 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron
- No 452 Squadron Townsville Flight - air traffic control
- No 27 (City of Townsville) Squadron
- No 38 Squadron (38SQN)
- No 1 Airfield Operations Support Squadron - airfield engineering
- Combat Survival Training School - evasion and escape training
- Army's No 5 Aviation Regiment - Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters
- 1 Expeditionary Health Squadron Detachment Townsville
Thanks to Dave for providing these great aerial photo's of Townsville Airport!
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| Townsville Airport, Photo by Dave. |
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| Townsville Airport, Photo by Dave. |
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| Alliance Airilnes F100's and Virgin Australia, Photo by Dave |
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| Alliance Airlines F100, Photo by Dave |
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| Virgin Australia B738, Photo by Dave |
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| Virgin Australia, Photo by Dave |
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