Karratha 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 surfa ...

in Karratha, in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The airport is from Karratha and south of Dampier.

History

At the beginning of the iron ore industry in the early 1960s, Dampier was chosen as the Port for Hamersley Iron's operations and this signaled the beginning of major development in the

. Roebourne airport was the nearest airport. In 1966 Hamersley Iron constructed an airport on the present Karratha Airport site with a sealed gravel runway and small terminal building and named it Dampier Airport. With the introduction of the

Fokker F-28 The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a twin-engined, short-range jet airliner designed and built by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. Following the Fokker F27 Friendship, an early and commercially successful turboprop-powered regional airliner, Fokker ...

jet aircraft by

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

in 1969, regular passenger flights by

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 ...

to the unsealed Roebourne airport were discontinued. After several years as a private airport, the airport was taken over by the Shire of Roebourne. Several upgrades have been made over the decades including a new runway, 08/26, and new terminals. The old runway is now used as a taxiway and helicopter landing site (HLS) for the many helicopters servicing the facilities in the North West Shelf gas field and marine pilot transfers for iron ore and gas ships using the nearby ports of Dampier and Walcott. The runway is capable of handling aircraft up to

737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boeing ...

size routinely, but can handle up to a

Boeing 767-300 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...

, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III or even

Antonov An-124 Ruslan 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 ...

. From the 1960s to the 1980s,

was the largest operator serving Karratha. East-West Airlines introduced services in the 1980s to compete with the Ansett group until it was absorbed by Ansett. Airliners operated into Karratha over the decades include the

Fokker F-27 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 ...

BAe 146 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Manufacture by Avro Internation ...

Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 is based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay turbofans, ...

Boeing 717 The Boeing 717 is an American five-abreast single-aisle airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The twin-engine airliner was developed for the 100-seat market and originally marketed by McDonnell Douglas as the MD-95. It was a shor ...

, Embraer E-Jets (170 & 190) and the

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

. Bristow Helicopters, CHC Helicopters and Helicopters NZ also have bases in Karratha operating helicopters such as the Agusta 109, Agusta 139, Sikorsky S76, Aerospatiale Super Puma and Airbus Helicopters EC225. Karratha Airport is the second busiest airport in Western Australia that handles commercial flights, with

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 ...

being the busiest and has played a major role in the development of the Pilbara region. In the year ending 30 June 2009 the airport handled 486,582 passengers nearly 100,000 increase over 2008 and was ranked 18th busiest in Australia. For the year ending June 2010 it had increased to 587,211 passengers and by 2011 it had reached 675,207 passengers. Of these passengers the vast majority are what is known in Australia as

fly-in fly-out Fly-in fly-out is a method of employing people in remote areas by flying them temporarily to the work site instead of relocating employees and their families permanently. It is often abbreviated to FIFO when referring to employment status. This is ...

workers. The airport is now the 17th busiest. Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"

Port Hedland International Airport Port Hedland International Airport is an international airport serving Port Hedland, Western Australia. The airport is south-east of Port Hedland and from South Hedland and is owned by the Town of Port Hedland Council. It is an important ai ...

is northeast of this airport. Karratha Airport has undergone a major revamp following a Council decision to redevelop the terminal. The $35 million upgrade provides several major changes within the terminal and includes a new cafe, bar, combined arrivals and departure area, new toilet facilities, improved security screening and baggage reclaim. The terminal was officially opened by Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss on 25 September 2015.

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...

previously linked Karratha with Brisbane, as well as Melbourne and Sydney, but withdrew the services in 2014 amid a downturn in the mining industry. Flights between Karratha and Brisbane were set to resume in 2018, but after would-be operator

JETGO Australia JETGO Australia was a regional airline and air charter company based at Eagle Farm, Queensland near Brisbane Airport. The airline operated scheduled domestic passenger services in the Eastern states of Australia, which were suspended when th ...

was placed into liquidation, the service was cancelled.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Operations

References

External links