Mackay Airport located in South Mackay,

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 , establishe ...

, Australia is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

, with flights to the cities of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Rockhampton,

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, Hamilton Island, Cairns and Sydney. In the year ending 30 June 2012,

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 the airport handled 969,900 passengers making it the 14th busiest airport in Australia. Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only" The airport attracts a diverse range of carriers to service the travel needs of the business, commercial, industrial, leisure and visiting friends and relatives sectors.

is a thriving mining, agricultural,

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and regional business centre that also supports a growing tourism industry and is a gateway to the

Whitsunday Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the H ...

coast and islands.

History

Moves to establish an airport at Mackay began in 1927, when Captain Ron Adair selected the site of the town commons for the construction of an

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

, and landed the first plane in Mackay there, his own Avro biplane. The

Mackay City Council The City of Mackay was a local government area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the regional city of Mackay and the surrounding region. The City was created as a municipal borough in 1869, and p ...

agreed in February 1930 to apply to excise land from the commons for aviation purposes, and in April 1930 the Mackay Aerodrome was officially opened by the mayor Ian Wood. The controller of civil aviation in Australia issued an airport licence on 9 March 1931. In 1938, the airport held an airshow featuring ten aircraft, which attracted over 8,000 spectators. Mackay Airport had grass landing strips until 1940, when the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

extended the airport's boundaries and upgraded the runways to unsealed gravel for use during

World War II 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 opposing ...

. Until 1945, Mackay Airport served as an important operational military base due to its proximity to the

South West Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the ...

. In 1948, the main runway was extended, and in 1958 it was further upgraded, sealed and strengthened. In 1941, the Commonwealth Government took control of the airport from the

, and built a new passenger terminal in 1953. The old terminal is still in use today, with a flight school operating out of one of its tenancies, offering a variety of pilot training programs in addition to more advanced flying qualifications. In 1984, the government offered control of the airport back to the council, which refused. It then offered the airport to the Mackay Port Authority, then changed its mind and announced the airport would be run by the Federal Airports Corporation. This move prompted an angry local reaction in Mackay, which eventually led to the port authority gaining control of the airport.

Present

Mackay Airport is used by most major airlines operating in Australia:

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 ...

subsidiaries QantasLink and

Jetstar 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 ...

and

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 brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as ''Virgin Blue'', with two ...

. Despite the collapse of airlines

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 admini ...

and

Flight West Airlines Flight West Airlines was an Australian regional airline headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland. Established in May 1987, it operated predominantly in Queensland. The airline went into voluntary liquidation on 19 June 2001 before being sold to ...

in 2001, Mackay Airport experienced considerable growth in subsequent years, due to the use of the airport by Virgin Australia and the expansion of QantasLink services. In November 2008, Mackay Airport was sold to a private consortium to fund the development of Mackay Hospital. In the year 2008, the airport handled 837,416 passengers making it the 15th busiest airport in Australia. In January 2010, Auckland International Airport Limited, announced plans to purchase almost 25 per cent of North Queensland Airports (NQA), operator of the airports at Cairns and Mackay, for about $167 million. Synergies for Auckland Airport with North Queensland Airports include better management of the airports' operations and working more closely with each other to attract airlines that currently don't fly to either. NQA stands to be a good stand-alone investment for future economic growth for the state of Queensland, as international tourism for the area of Northern Queensland increases, thus, illustrating a significant increase in demand for future international flights to the airports. In September 2015,

Tigerair Australia Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd, operating as Tigerair Australia, was an Australian low-cost airline. Founded by Tiger Airways Holdings, it commenced services in the domestic airline market on 23 November 2007 as Tiger Airways Australia. It l ...

announced they were suspending the Mackay-Melbourne service due to decline in passenger numbers.

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 Virgin ...

ran a Mackay-Gold Coast route from June 2014 until September, 2015. It was also suspended due to a small number of passengers. In March, 2016 Regional Air began regular charter flights between Mackay and Hamilton Island, however Regional Air have now ceased operations. In 2016, the cross runway 05/23 (1,344 m x 30 m) was closed and partially converted into a taxiway due to prohibitive lighting and pavement maintenance costs. In July 2021, local flight training organisation, Horizon Airways, was acquired by local investors and expanded substantially. Horizon Airways has expanded to a fleet of 9 aircraft, and provides regular charter flights to various local locations, particularly Keswick and Hamilton Islands. In February 2022,

Bonza Bonza Aviation Pty Ltd, operating as Bonza, is an Australian low-cost airline, headquartered on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sunshine Coast. Bonza commenced operations on 31 January 2023. History Background Bonza was founded in October 2021 ...

announced that the airport would become one of its 17 destinations with the airline planning to fly to the Sunshine Coast, Melbourne and Cairns from Mackay

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Operations

References

External links

Mackay Airport Home PageNQA Corporate site
{{Airports in Queensland Airports in Queensland Buildings and structures in Mackay, Queensland Airports established in 1931 Queensland in World War II