Adelaide Airport Limited

Adelaide Airport, also known as Adelaide International Airport, is an international, domestic and general aviation airport serving Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Located approximately 6 km (4 mi) west of the Adelaide central business district, Adelaide Airport is the fifth-busiest airport in Australia measured by passenger movements, servicing more than 8.5 million passengers in FY24. It has been operated privately by Adelaide Airport Limited under a long-term lease from the federal government since 29 May 1998.

First established in 1955, Adelaide Airport operates flights to over 30 destinations within Australia, Oceania, Asia, and soon to North America. The airport also serves as a hub for Virgin Australia, a focus city for Qantas, and as an operating base for various airlines, including Jetstar. Since 2005, flights have been operated through a combined domestic and international terminal, having replaced the original separate terminals. Adelaide Airport is capable of handling large aircraft such as the Airbus A380, having made it a common place for numerous aircraft diversions. Boeing 747 aircraft also make common appearances at Adelaide Airport, a regular at the airport in previous years.

The facility operates an average of over 250 flights daily, and spans a total area of 785 hectares (1,940 acres) of airport property.

History

An early "Adelaide airport" was an aerodrome constructed in 1921, allowing a mail service between Adelaide and Sydney. The aerodrome was built on of land in Albert Park, now part of the neighbouring suburb of Hendon, which took over from the Northfield Aerodrome. The demand on aviation soon grew substantially, with Parafield Airport being developed in 1927 to enable the first passenger airline services from Adelaide. With a further growth in aviation, a new site for the current Adelaide Airport was selected in the suburb of West Beach, which was then split to form the dedicated Adelaide Airport suburb in 1991, in January 1946. An alternative airport site was also considered in Port Adelaide, which included a seaplane facility, but was considered inferior and too far from the central business district. Construction in the chosen site took place and flights commenced in 1954, with Parafield Airport being turned into a private and military aviation facility, now operating as a public training airport.

An annexe to one of the large hangars at the airport served as a passenger terminal until the Commonwealth Government provided funds for the construction of a temporary building.

In May 1998, Adelaide Airport Limited purchased the long-term leases of Adelaide Airport and Parafield Airport from the Government of Australia. The consortium comprised Manchester Airport, Serco, UniSuper, and Macquarie Bank. As at December 2023, the shareholders of Adelaide Airport Limited were UniSuper (51%), Hostplus (15%), IFM Investors (15%), Igneo Infrastructure Partners (15%) and Perron Group (4%).

In July 1998, the runway was extended by 570 metres to 3.1 kilometres. In October 2005 a dual-use facility replaced both the original domestic and international terminals. The old domestic terminal was closed shortly after the new terminal was opened to flights and was demolished not long after. A new control tower was built west of the current terminal with the old control tower maintained for additional operations.

In October 2006, the new terminal was named the Capital City Airport of the Year at the Australian Aviation Industry Awards in Cairns. In March 2007, Adelaide Airport was rated the world's second-best airport in the 5–15 million passengers category at the Airports Council International (ACI) 2006 awards in Dubai.

Plans were announced for an expansion of the terminal in July 2007, including more aerobridges and demolition of the old International Terminal.

On 5 August 2008 Tiger Airways Australia confirmed that Adelaide Airport would become the airline's second hub which would base two of the airline's Airbus A320s by early 2009. On 29 October 2009 Tiger announced it would be housing its third A320 at Adelaide Airport from early 2010. Tiger Airways later shut down its operations from Adelaide only to recommence them in 2013.

In 2011 the airport encountered major problems during the eruption of Puyehue volcano in Chile. The ash cloud caused flights to be cancelled nationwide, with over 40,000 passengers stranded in Adelaide.

On 11 October 2022, it was discovered that at around 10am local time, security screening equipment had failed half an hour earlier, leading to the evacuation of the terminal and re-screening of approximately 2,000 passengers.

In 2023, Jetstar based two of their Airbus A321LR at Adelaide.

International history

International services became regular from 1982 upon the construction of an international terminal, with airlines such as Singapore Airlines and British Airways serving Adelaide Airport in its early years.

The original international terminal had only two aircraft bays and a single jetbridge, with limited space for passengers. Check-in desks were small and waiting space was limited. It was replaced in 2005, and demolished in 2018 to make way for expanded landside facilities and a future expansion of the main terminal.

On 18 December 2018, Singapore Airlines upgraded their Singapore to Adelaide flight from the Airbus A330-300 to the new Airbus A350-900 fitted with their dual-class regional configuration.

Fiji Airways also upgraded their new Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft on the Nadi to Adelaide route, but due to the grounding of the 737 MAX aircraft, switched to the Boeing 737-800.

In late 2018 and early 2019, China Southern, Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines increased their services to Adelaide Airport to accommodate the increase in demand.

The airport is also a heavy cargo destination for Volga-Dnepr Airlines, who require of runway for the Antonov cargo plane.

Over the financial year 2018–2019, Adelaide Airport experienced passenger growth of 7% internationally and 1.3% for domestic and regional passengers from 2017's quarterly report; this added up to a new record number of passengers who passed through Adelaide Airport at 8,090,000 over the financial year. Adelaide Airport also experienced the greatest international growth out of any Australian port.

In December 2021, Qantas launched a temporary non-stop service from Adelaide to New Delhi, due to a shortage of Boeing 787 aircraft at the time. This was the first time Qantas had flown a non-stop international flight from Adelaide since the discontinuation of their Singapore to Adelaide route in 2013. Repatriation flights from Delhi to Adelaide had also taken place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, flown with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operated by Air India, registered as VT-ANY.

In October 2023, Adelaide Airport released its 2050 Network Vision, in which the airport hopes to have direct flight connection to 39 global cities, with some notable destinations including Los Angeles and Johannesburg, as well as the return of London among others.
In order to achieve this the airport is planning a significant expansion of its current facilities to cater for more international flights.

On 28 October 2024, it was reported that Emirates had resumed their popular non-stop route between Dubai and Adelaide. This came shortly after China Southern Airlines' announcement for the resumption of their non-stop route between Guangzhou and Adelaide. Both routes were initially launched in 2012 and 2016 respectively, but were ceased in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Batik Air and Garuda Indonesia had also previously terminated or suspended flights to Adelaide for the same reason, yet to return to Adelaide as of 2025.

On 2 April 2025, United Airlines announced a new seasonal non-stop route between Adelaide and San Francisco, scheduled to be launched on 11 December 2025. The route will also become United's third longest flight and place within the top 30 longest flights globally, with a distance of . It will also establish the first direct connection by air between South Australia and North America.

In May 2025, Qantas announced the resumption of their non-stop Auckland flights, marking the return of international flights to Adelaide from the carrier after a 12-year hiatus. Additionally, Cathay Pacific also reported the resumption of their popular Hong Kong service, which had originally been discontinued in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Terminals

The airport was redeveloped at a cost of $260 million and opened on 8 October 2005. The redevelopment was managed by builders Hansen Yuncken. Before the redevelopment, the old airport terminal was criticised for its limited capacity and lack of aerobridges.

Proposals were developed for an upgraded terminal of world standard. The final proposal, released in 1997, called for a large, unified terminal in which both domestic and international flights would use the same terminal. A combination of factors, the most notable of which was the collapse of Ansett Australia, then a duopoly domestic carrier with Qantas, and the resultant loss of funds for its share of the construction cost, saw the new terminal plans shelved until an agreement was reached in 2002.

The new terminal was opened on 7 October 2005 by the Prime Minister John Howard and South Australian Premier Mike Rann. However, Adelaide Airport Limited announced soon afterwards that only international flights would use the new facility immediately due to problems with the fuel pumps and underground pipes. These problems related initially to the anti-rusting agent applied to the insides of the fuel pumps, then to construction debris in the pipes. Although international and regional (from December 2005) aircraft were refuelled via tankers, a lack of space and safety concerns prevented this action for domestic jet aircraft, which instead continued operations at the old terminal. The refuelling system was cleared of all debris and the new terminal was used for all flights from 17 February 2006. The new airport terminal is approximately end to end and is capable of handling 27 aircraft, including an Airbus A380, simultaneously and processing 3,000 passengers per hour.

The current mixed use terminal includes several high-amenity airline lounges over two levels. Level one includes the Plaza Premium international lounge adjacent to the international security check-in, exclusively for international passengers. On level two, Virgin Australia and Rex Airlines operate lounges for domestic passengers. Qantas operate their signature Qantas Club lounge complex opposite gate 21 in the main terminal departure lounge. It is open to domestic and international business class Qantas passengers and Qantas Club membership holders, as well as business class passengers of partnered Oneworld alliance member airlines. As of 13 June 2024, a multi-million dollar refurbishment of the lounge complex is underway and capacity is restricted. As announced by Qantas in 2022, the new lounge complex will emerge as the Qantas Lounge Precinct, with the addition of a separate Qantas Business Lounge, along with the fully refurbished Qantas Club and Qantas Chairmans Lounge which will open in stages from late 2024. The Qantas Business Lounge will welcome its first passengers in mid-2025. The terminal check-in hall provides 42 common user check-in desks and 34 shop fronts. Free wireless Internet is also provided throughout the terminal by Internode Systems, a first for an Australian airport.

Facilities and developments

In February 2011, a A$100 million building program was launched as part of a five-year master plan, including a new road network within the airport, a multi-storey car park, increasing short-term parking spaces from 800 to 1,650 (completed August 2012); a new plaza frontage for the passenger terminal (completed March 2013); a walkway bridge connecting new car park and existing terminal building (completed March 2013); terminal concourse extension; three new aerobridges; terminal commercial projects and passenger facilities; relocation of regional carrier Rex.

In July 2013, Adelaide Airport became the first Australian airport and second airport worldwide to have Google Street View technology, allowing passengers to explore the arrival and departure sections of the airport before travel.

A new control tower, at high, more than twice the height of the old tower built in 1983 and costing , was completed and commissioned in August 2013. This was followed by the approval of the ''Adelaide Airport Master Plan 2014'', in January 2015, ratified by the Commonwealth Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development.

In September 2016, a relocation and major upgrade was completed for the base of the central service region of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The base houses many Pilatus PC-12 and one Pilatus PC-24, maintenance hangars and ambulance bays.

The Atura Hotel ( tall, nine levels) was completed in September 2018,
following the $165 million terminal expansion project in late 2018 and early 2019. The expansion was completed in 2021, increasing the length of the terminal, adding more duty-free and shopping outlets, and increasing international capacity. The old international terminal was also demolished in 2019, after lying empty for many years.

In early 2020, Adelaide Airport opened a newly updated concourse which was finished in December 2019, with new shops such as Airport Pharmacy, Boost Juice, Lego Kaboom, Penfolds Wine Bar & Kitchen, Precinct Adelaide Kitchen, and Soul Origin. In October 2023 it was announced that the Penfolds Wine Bar & Kitchen would close and be replaced with the ADL Grounds Bar.

Vickers Vimy museum

In 1919, the Australian government offered £10,000 for the first All-Australian crew to fly an aeroplane from England to Australia. Adelaide brothers Keith Macpherson Smith and Ross Macpherson Smith, along with mechanics Jim Bennett and Wally Shiers, completed the journey from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome to Darwin via Singapore and Batavia on 10 December 1919. Their Vickers Vimy aircraft, affectionately known as "God 'Elp All Of Us", is preserved in a purpose-built climate-controlled museum inside the grounds of the airport at . Due to relocation of the terminal buildings, the museum is now situated inside the long-term car park. In 2019, the state and federal government committed $2 million each towards a new preservation facility inside the airport's $165 million terminal expansion.

Lucerne to cool runways

A world-first project that lowers runway temperatures by growing commercial crops irrigated by recycled water was trialled at Adelaide Airport, with the first trial completed in 2019. By planting of various crops and testing the effects of each on runway temperature, SA Water scientists found that lucerne was most successful, leading to a reduction of an average 3 °C in average ambient air temperatures on warm days, in and around the irrigation areas. Not only was the lucerne the best performer compared with tall fescue, couch grass and kikuyu, but it can also be cut into hay and sold as stock feed. The plant growth habit of lucerne also lends itself to deter birds, with research suggesting "if you have a nice thick crop of lucerne over the top of the soil he birdscan't actually get to the soil and the movement of the crop in the wind also spooks them." Preliminary trial results suggest that lucerne treatments saw no increase in bird species. The Airport is creating a business case to extend the project to cover of airport land.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Qantas formerly operated dedicated "flightseeing" services over Antarctica from Adelaide. These flights, which originally used a Boeing 747-400, then a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, departed Adelaide from the international/domestic terminal, and provided a guided aerial tour of Antarctica before returning to Australia. These flights were about thirteen hours in total.

Cargo

Traffic and statistics

Total annual passengers

Domestic

International

Cargo

Awards

Adelaide Airport consistently ranks within the top hundred airports globally, as well within the top ten in the 5-15 million passenger category. It has also been named Australia's best capital city airport on numerous occasions, in 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2024. Additionally, the airport has also won Skytrax World Airport Awards' best regional airport ranking in the Australia-Pacific region in 2022 and 2024.

Accidents and incidents

* On 13 July 1972, an Ansett Australia Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft, registered as VH-CIZ, crashed near Golden Grove shortly after departing Adelaide for a charter flight to Moomba Airport. All eight people on board, including the pilot and seven passengers, were killed.

Ground transport

Adelaide Metro operates frequent JetBus services connecting the airport to a number of popular locations across metropolitan Adelaide, including the CBD.

Routes J1 and J2 operate between the northern and the western and southern suburbs, via the CBD and airport – popular areas such as Westfield Tea Tree Plaza, Glenelg and Harbour Town are serviced.
Bus stops U1 on the south side of Grenfell Street and W1 on the south side of Currie Street

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