Avalon Airport is a

domestic airport A domestic airport is an airport that handles only flights within the same country. Domestic airports do not have customs and immigration facilities and so cannot handle flights to or from a foreign airport. These airports often have short r ...

, located in

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

in the

City of Greater Geelong The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. I ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. While located outside the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

metropolitan area, it is the second busiest of the four airports serving the state capital in passenger traffic. It is located north-east of the Geelong CBD and south-west of the

Melbourne CBD The Melbourne central business district (colloquially known as "the City" or "the CBD", and gazetted simply as Melbourne) is the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As of the 2021 census, the CBD had a population of 54,941, and is ...

. The airport is operated by Avalon Airport Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of

Linfox Linfox is an Australian transport, logistics and supply chain business founded in 1956 by Lindsay Fox. History Linfox was established in 1956 by Lindsay Fox as Lindsay Fox Cartage with one truck in Melbourne. In 1958, a contract with Schweppe ...

. Avalon is currently served by passenger airline

Jetstar Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, doing business as, trading as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by the ...

, which began domestic flights in 2004. The airport is also the site of the biennial

Australian International Airshow The Australian International Airshow, also called the Avalon Airshow, is a large air show held biennially at Avalon Airport, between Melbourne and Geelong in Victoria. The event has a strong focus on military aviation, featuring aircraft from ...

, which has been held at the venue since 1992. Unlike

Melbourne Airport Melbourne Airport , known locally as Tullamarine Airport, is an international airport serving Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operating 24/7 service, 24 hours a day with on-site parking, shopping and dining, Melbourne Airport is the List of th ...

, Avalon Airport is not governed by the Commonwealth's ''Airports Act 1996''. The airport has a single runway in addition to a helipad.

History

The airport is located on land of the original indigenous owners, the

Wathaurong The Wadawurrung nation, also called the Wathaurong, or Wathaurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people living in the area near Melbourne, Geelong, and the Bellarine Peninsula in the state of Victoria. They are part of the Kulin alliance. The ...

people, and a scatter stone area is preserved on the Avalon Airport site, out of respect for the original owners. The land has undergone many changes over the past century. In the beginning, the airport was a sheep and cattle farm and homestead, founded by James Austin, an immigrant from

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

, England. Austin established his farm and named the homestead "Avalon" after the isle of

at Glastonbury, the mythical island in the

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

. In 1952 the Commonwealth Government bought at Avalon for just 110 pounds, as the land was deemed to be of poor quality farmland due to the abundance of volcanic rock littering the surface. The airport was opened in 1953, to cater for the production of military aircraft. Previously, the

Government Aircraft Factories Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) was the name of an aircraft manufacturer owned by the Government of Australia. The primary factory was located at Fishermans Bend, a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria. It had its origins in the lead-up to Wor ...

Fishermans Bend Fishermans Bend (formerly Fishermen's Bend) is a precinct within the City of Port Phillip and the City of Melbourne. It is located on the south of the Yarra River in the suburb of Port Melbourne and opposite Coode Island, close to the Melbourne ...

, Melbourne had used a runway beside the factory. However, newer jet aircraft required a longer runway for safe operations, and the Fishermans Bend runway was being encroached upon by development. A runway was built by the

Country Roads Board The Country Roads Board was a government authority responsible for the construction and maintenance of main roads in the state of Victoria, Australia between 1913 and 1983. History The Country Roads Board (CRB) was formed to take over respon ...

, with the first plane landing on 3 April 1953 – a four-engined

Avro Lincoln The Avro Type 694 Lincoln is a British four-engined heavy bomber, which maiden flight, first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were initially known as the Lancaster IV and V; these were renamed L ...

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually Aerial bomb, bombs) and longest range (aeronautics), range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy ...

flown from Fishermans Bend. The

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilla ...

light bomber A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance. The earliest light bombers were intended to dr ...

was under construction at same time at the new airport. In 1959,

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

established a training base at the site. In 1961, Government Aircraft Factories combined with the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation, and built and serviced 110 Mirage fighters at the site, and in 1970 Jindivik Target Aircraft transferred to Avalon Airport from Fishermans Bend, adding production of 170 Nomad and 75 Hornet military jets, in addition to servicing of other jets. In 1985, the Government Aircraft Factories changed its name to Aerospace Technologies of Australia (ASTA).Government Aircraft Factories / Aerospace Technologies of Australia

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

Aircraft produced during this time included the

GAF Jindivik The GAF Jindivik is a radio-controlled target drone produced by the Australian Government Aircraft Factories (GAF). The name is from an Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal Australian word meaning "the hunted one". Two manually-controlled prototyp ...

remotely piloted aircraft An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...

, and

Nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

civil aircraft. Under the ASTA banner, engines for the

Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizont ...

jet fighters were produced, as well as assembly of the

F/A-18 The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

multirole combat aircraft A multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) is a combat aircraft intended to perform different roles in combat. These roles can include air to air combat, air support, aerial bombing, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and suppression of air def ...

for the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF). In 1990, ASTA acquired 99 year lease on the airport. In 1996, the airport was sold to Foxerco, owned by

and

Serco Serco Group plc is a British multinational corporation, multinational military, defence, Healthcare, health, Space industry, space, private prison, justice, Human migration, migration, customer service, customer services, and transport company ...

.Govt closes ASTAAS air factory
''

Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

'' 25 September 1996 In October 1988, the ASTA Aircraft Services division took the first

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

to Avalon for servicing and maintenance. By December 1993, fifty 747 aircraft had been through the Avalon facility, and 820 people were employed at the site. October 1995 saw a

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...

Lockheed L-1011 The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar (pronounced "El-ten-eleven") is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter commercial operations, after the Boeing 74 ...

flown to Avalon for scrapping by ASTA Aircraft Services, in what was a one-off event. Training of pilots from Japan's

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. ANA operates services to both domestic and international destinations and is Japan's largest airline, ahead of its main rival flag carrier Japan Airlines. the airline has approximate ...

commenced at the airport on 8 September 1993. On 27 June 1995 Aerospace Technologies of Australia was

privatised Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...

by the

Federal Government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

, selling the aircraft divisions to Rockwell Australia, and the airport operations to Avalon Airport Geelong Pty Ltd. The ASTA airliner overhauling facility was closed in 1997. The first scheduled passenger flights out of the airport were operated by Hazelton Airlines, who commenced flights between Avalon Airport and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in February 1995. 36-seat

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30–36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 differen ...

aircraft were used for the service. The service was discontinued after a short time due to a lack of passengers. Avalon-airport-hangars

Post-privatisation

Between 1997 and 2001 Linfox developed proposals to develop the land which formed the basis of the Avalon Airport Master Plan draft, 2013. In 1992, the airport began hosting the

. On 1 June 2004,

started commercial flights from the airport, in addition to their operations at

. In 2008, the Federal Government rejected an application to build an international terminal. In April 2010,

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 lat ...

announced it would base two aircraft and commence operations from Avalon later that year. By June 2011 however, Tigerair Australia announced it would be withdrawing several flights from Avalon, to be operated instead from Melbourne Airport. The remaining Tigerair Australia services were withdrawn after a series of incidents that led to airline's operations being suspended by the

Civil Aviation Safety Authority The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's civil aviation. CASA was formed on 6 July 1995 under the ''Civil Aviation Act 1988'' when the Civil ...

the following month. In October 2012, the Federal Government announced that the airport's lease would be amended, allowing for the construction of a new terminal and the implementation of international flights. Avalon is the second airport in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

to be designated as a

port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border control, border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not impo ...

for freight operations. In February 2022,

Bonza Bonza Aviation Pty Ltd, operating as Bonza, was a short-lived Australian low-cost airline, headquartered on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sunshine Coast. Founded in October 2021, Bonza commenced operations on 31 January 2023. The airline ente ...

announced that the airport would become one of its 17 destinations with the airline planning to fly to the Sunshine Coast from Avalon. Bonza started commercial flights from the airport on 21 February 2023, in addition to their operations at Melbourne Airport. Bonza suspended all flights in early 2024.

International flights

It was announced on 4 February 2018 that

AirAsia X AirAsia X Berhad, operating as AirAsia X (formerly FlyAsianXpress Sdn. Bhd.), is a Malaysian long-haul, low-cost airline and a subsidiary of the AirAsia, AirAsia Group. The airline was initially established in 2006 as FlyAsian Express (FAX) an ...

would move their Melbourne Airport operations to Avalon Airport by the end of the year. AirAsia X

Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body airliner developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus began developing larger A300 derivatives in the mid–1970s, giving rise to the A330 twinjet as well as the Airbus A340 quadjet, and launched both designs along ...

s would service the twice daily direct flights to Kuala Lumpur. Announcing it on 10 July 2018 the airline commenced its operations from Avalon Airport on 5 December 2018. A media release on 22 October 2019 from the

Victorian Premier The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Victo ...

's Office stated that

VietJet Air Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (), operating as VietJet Air or Vietjet, is a Vietnamese low-cost airline based in Hanoi. It was the first privately owned airline to be established in Vietnam, being granted its initial approval to operate ...

was expected to begin flights from Avalon to Vietnam in the second half of 2020. However, when VietJet commenced their flights to Melbourne in April 2023, they operated out of Melbourne Airport instead. On 11 December 2019, it was announced on

Citilink PT Citilink Indonesia, operating as Citilink, is an Indonesian low-cost airline headquartered in Jakarta. Established in July 2001 as a low-cost brand of Garuda Indonesia, it operates services to domestic and regional destinations. Since 30 Jul ...

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account that flights to Denpasar (Bali), Indonesia would be added to Avalon Airport's list of international flights. On 10 January 2020, it was stated that the daily flight would commence on 24 January 2020. On 18 July 2022, Air Asia announced they would be restarting flights to Australia and New Zealand but will be ending their Avalon operations and begin operating out of

for the first time since 2018.

Future

Airport Master Plan 2015

The Avalon Airport Master Plan was prepared by Avalon Airport Pty Ltd in September 2015 and was endorsed by the Department of Defence. The document provides for a significant expansion of the airport's operations, as well as the establishment of non-aviation related developments.

Facilities

Since the introduction of

in 2004, the Avalon Airport terminal facilities have expanded from the original size of to nearly . Over $100 million has been invested in the airport thus far to complete the following: * An apron expansion to accommodate a further four aircraft as well as enable the opportunity to accommodate an aircraft the size of a Boeing 747. * A total of seven A320 sized aircraft can now be parked simultaneously in front of the airport terminal. * Installation of a flight information display system * Fuel farm expansion to triple storage capacity from 500,000 to 1,500,000 litres of A1 jet fuel plus installation of new fuel pipelines * Construction of a new bus, taxi and hire car road and various rerouted roads to manage incoming passenger traffic and other road infrastructure upgrades * Fuel farm electrical maintenance and demolition of unused buildings * Significant infrastructure upgrades as part of the Australian International Airshow

Passenger terminal

The current terminal facility is approximately in area and houses four gates capable of servicing aircraft up to and including the size of the

Airbus A321 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body, commercial passenger Twinjet, twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was ...

. In its present configuration, the terminal can accommodate around six domestic departures per hour. The airport has a total of eight aircraft parking bays; there are six on the Northern Apron and two on the Eastern Apron. On the Northern Apron, the airport can accommodate five Code C Aircraft (

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, 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 t ...

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

aircraft) and one

. Avalon Airport can accommodate two Boeing 747s or two

Boeing 787 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, wh ...

s on the Eastern Apron. The Eastern Apron is also a remote parking bay which doubles as a freight bay. The airport is capable of fitting one

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...

at a time on the Eastern Apron; this means it can also accommodate the freighter version of the

Boeing 747-8 The Boeing 747-8 is the final series of the large, long-range wide-body airliners in the Boeing 747 family from Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the largest model variant of the 747 and Boeing's largest aircraft overall. Following the intro ...

, which is slightly smaller. Currently the airport terminal is not equipped with

aerobridges A jet bridge is an enclosed connector which most commonly extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane, and in some instances from a port to a boat or ship, allowing passengers to board and disembark without heading outside and being exp ...

, and does not feature any guest lounges.

Freight facilities

The most notable freight operations include the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...

Supercars A supercar, also known as an exotic car, is a street-legal sports car with race track-like power, speed, and handling, plus a certain subjective ''cachet'' linked to pedigree and/or exclusivity. The term 'supercar' is frequently used for th ...

and

Superbikes Superbike racing is a category of motorcycle racing that employs highly modified production motorcycles, as opposed to MotoGP in which purpose-built motorcycles are used. The Superbike World Championship is the official world championship series, ...

, plus some specialist charters including livestock race horses, fresh produce, military hardware, touring rock bands. The airport can facilitate loads on all aircraft types from the Airbus 380 series down, with equipment available to load via the main deck, lower deck, nose or tail end of the aircraft, with a maximum lift of 16 tonnes. It has three dedicated freighter parking positions: Two on its eastern and one on the northern freighter aprons.

Aircraft heavy maintenance

Avalon Airport has six hangars in total: of hangar space, including three Boeing 747 hangars. Three of these are customised Boeing 747 hangars that were used by Qantas. The Qantas Engineering maintenance facility opened on 13 May 1998. It closed in March 2014. It was also responsible for the Qantas's aircraft commercial project work, including cabin reconfigurations and refurbishment.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate scheduled flights at Avalon Airport: Since 2020, international passenger flights no longer operate out of Avalon Airport.

Other uses

The video clip of

Human Nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...

's 2000 song '' He Don't Love You'' was filmed at the airport. In July 2013, it was proposed by Geelong City Council that a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

be built at Avalon, and they have held discussions with

Village Roadshow Village Roadshow is an Australian company which operates cinemas and theme parks, and produces and distributes films. Before being acquired by private equity company BGH Capital, the company was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange a ...

and other companies concerning the proposal. African Safari World was a previous proposal at nearby Werribee Zoo that did not get approved. The biennial

operates from Avalon Airport. The project is owned by Aviation Development Australia Limited. The event attracts a total attendance of over 195,000 across the six days, including exhibitors from the international aerospace industry and government, military, scientific and trade delegates.

Ground transport

Road

Avalon Airport is linked to Geelong and Melbourne by the adjacent

Princes Freeway Princes Freeway is a Australian freeway, divided into two sections, both located in Victoria, Australia. The freeway links Melbourne to Geelong in the west, and to Morwell in the east. It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes ...

. The airport has 1,500 airport car spaces, a taxi rank and a ride-share pick-up/drop-off bay.

Public transport

Bus

In 2017, Skybus launched services from the Melbourne CBD and Geelong to Avalon Airport. From June 2014 to December 2018, the Sunbus service was operated by

Sita Buslines Transit Systems Victoria, formerly Sita Buslines, is a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems and operates 18 bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. History In 1966, Frank Bono ...

. It connected Avalon with Melbourne,

Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the local government area of the City of Wyndham. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werrib ...

and Geelong.

Future rail connection

In May 2011, the Victorian Minister for Public Transport committed $3 million for the planning of a rail link to Avalon Airport. In January 2013, three route options were presented. The railway line would start by running along the existing

Port Fairy railway line The Warrnambool railway line is a railway serving the south west of Victoria, Australia. Running from the western Melbourne suburb of Newport through the cities of Geelong and Warrnambool, the line once terminated at the coastal town of Port ...

, and then divert towards Avalon Airport, south of Little River, at one of three locations. The eastern option would see the line break away closer to Melbourne, near Cherry Swamp Road and Little River. The central option would place the diversion 2.5 kilometres southwest, near Peak School Road at Lara. The western route option would divert from the existing line closer to Geelong, at Plains Road, Lara. Each of the three routes would run over the

, north east of the Beach Road interchange at Little River, running under the flight path to a new station inside the terminal. The government would need to acquire private farmland to complete the link and is considering a number different options, including a light rail service, automated driverless trains used at several international airports. In August 2013, the state government indicated that it may alter its election promise to build the $250 million railway line to Avalon Airport, and instead create a cheaper

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

link from Melbourne's south-west. Department documents show the government is now considering other options to meet interim demand, such as light rail, buses, or "driverless transport options which are used at many airports around the world". In September 2023, Avalon Airport called for an alternate plan which would see an infill airport station built along the existing Geelong line, with a new road for shuttle buses to connect it directly with the airport. The plan was costed at $140 million with Avalon Airport CEO Tony Brun proposing to split the cost three ways between the airport, the state and federal governments. In May 2024, due to delays with the construction of the Melbourne Airport Rail link, State Treasurer

Tim Pallas Timothy Hugh Pallas (born 7 January 1960) is an Australian former politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2025, representing the electorate of Tarneit until 2014 and then Werribee from 2014 ...

suggested that Avalon Airport could receive funding for a new rail link instead if Melbourne Airport is unable to agree on its station design.

Accidents and incidents

*On 6 August 1976, a prototype N24 Nomad crashed shortly after takeoff at Avalon while conducting a flight test of modifications to the tail of the aircraft. Two of the three crew members were killed in the accident, notably including pilot Stuart Pearce, father of actor

Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. List of awards and nominations received by Guy Pearce, His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, and nominations for an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Aw ...

. *On 30 June 2011, a Tiger Airways Australia

flight from Sydney performed a

missed approach Missed approach is a procedure followed by a pilot when an instrument approach cannot be completed to a full-stop landing. Initiation A missed approach may be either initiated by the pilot or instructed by air traffic control (ATC). The instru ...

at Avalon outside of published procedures, resulting in the aircraft overflying the Geelong suburb of

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

at a dangerously low altitude, without guidance from Air Traffic Control. The incident made national headlines and triggered a five-week grounding of the airline over a busy school holiday period while a safety audit was conducted by the

. *On 6 March 2025, a 17-year-old male armed with a loaded shotgun was overpowered by passengers and crew before being arrested after he breached the airport security fence and tried to board a

plane. The teenager threatened passengers and crew and allegedly told passengers he was carrying a bomb. The incident led to a lockdown of the airport with the airport remaining closed until the following day. The incident led to concerns about security at the airport that, unlike the majority of airports in major Australian cities, is guarded by private security officers as opposed to dedicated border officials and federal police. As a result of the security breach, the

Home Affairs Department The Home Affairs Department is an executive agency in the government of Hong Kong responsible for internal affairs of the territory. It reports to the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Home Affairs. Purpose The d ...

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

’s counterterrorism command and the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre have all launched investigations into security and safety at the airport. *On 28 March 2025, a Wolf Pitts S1-11X biplane crashed during an aerobatic display at the Avalon Australian International Airshow, when it lost control after completing a loop, critically injuring the pilot, who was the sole occupant.

References

Bibliography

*Peter Begg (1990). ''Geelong — The First 150 Years''. Globe Press.

External links

*
Australian International AirshowStreet Map
{{Melbourne landmarks Airports established in 1953 Airports in Victoria (state) Buildings and structures in Geelong Serco Transport in Geelong 1953 establishments in Australia