Coffs Harbour Airport (formerly ICAO code of YSCH until November 2007) is the only airport serving the

City of Coffs Harbour The City of Coffs Harbour (also known as the Coffs Harbour City Council) is a local government area in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is , expanded in 2004 to take in parts of the former P ...

, in the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Mid North Coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region, situated 416km north of Sydney, covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens at Hawks Nest to as far ...

region in Australia. The airport is located south of

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...

and is one of the busiest regional airports in the state, serving flights to the east coast capital cities, as well as some regional destinations. Coffs Harbour Airport has the capacity to handle large aircraft such as the

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body airliner 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 ...

Boeing 777 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the most-built wide-body airliner. ...

but is predominately served by regional airlines using smaller aircraft. In 2021–22 the airport handled 17,662 total aircraft movements. The terminal handled a record 413,103 passengers in the 2017–18 financial year,

Fiscal year A fiscal year (also known as a 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. La ...

1 July – 30 June making it the 22nd busiest airport in Australia. However, the impacts of travel restrictions in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

resulted in a significant reduction in revenue passengers, with the airport handling 178,514 during 2021–22, falling to the 28th busiest airport.

History

The airport was established by the council in 1928. It was requisitioned by 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

for the purposes of an airbase for anti-submarine patrols. No. 71 Squadron and 'C' Flight No. 73 Squadron operated from the base from 1943 until being disbanded in late 1944. No. 12 Operational Base Unit maintained and serviced the airfield during its operation. A number of bunkers associated with the RAAF's occupation exist near the airfield, including one which has been repurposed as a gallery containing a large collection of

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

art. With the introduction of

Fokker F28 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, Fokk ...

regional jets by

Airlines of New South Wales Airlines of New South Wales (also known as Air New South Wales, Ansett NSW and Ansett Express) callsign "NEWSOUTH" was an Australian domestic regional airline that operated from 1959 until its merger into Ansett in 1993. It was formed by Reg ...

in 1983, Coffs Harbour was identified 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) ...

as one of six regional centres in the state to receive airport upgrades to support their operation. These works were estimated to cost $9.6 million, involving the construction of a new runway, taxiways, apron and terminal building, and an air traffic control tower, all expected to be completed by September 1985. Projections at this time were that the airport would handle in excess of 26,000 aircraft movements and 112,000 passengers by the year 2000. In August 1999 the runway was widened from 30 to 45 metres to accommodate

s. From the early 2000s, the airport became a regular destination for training flights by cadets from the

Singapore Flying College The Singapore Flying College (Abbreviation: SFC) is a CAAS approved Flight training, flight school based in Singapore. Established in 1988 under the Singapore Airlines Group, it is the training school for cadet pilots with Singapore Airlines, S ...

, owing to its favourable weather, surrounding high terrain and air traffic control facilities. In 2015, Coffs Harbour Airport secured funding from the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

to expand the apron space to allow more parking for narrowbody jet aircraft, as well as upgrades to the security screening and baggage facilities. These works increased the number of parking bays at the terminal from three to five, which can be occupied simultaneously. In late 2020, the

entered into a 50-year agreement, leasing the airport to Palisade Investment Partners to operate and develop the airport. This agreement included the development of the Airport Enterprise Park, adjacent to the

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

facilities north of the main terminal. This construction resulted in the permanent closure of taxiway E5, which was equipped with edge lighting to facilitate the movement of aircraft to the general aviation area at night. During construction, the smaller runway 10/28 was also closed, fueling speculation that it too would be permanently closed and converted to a taxiway. While this was denied by the airport's management, it was conceded that the future of the runway was under review, with safety given priority over development.

Facilities

Coffs Harbour Airport is one of the few regional airports in New South Wales to have an Air Traffic Control tower, as well as

Aircraft rescue and firefighting Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) is a type of firefighting that involves the emergency response, mitigation, evacuation, and rescue of passengers and crew of aircraft involved in aviation accidents and incidents. Airports with schedul ...

(ARFF) capabilities, however both of these services generally operate during daylight hours only. When the tower is closed, pilots are required to communicate via a

Common Traffic Advisory Frequency Common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) is the name given to the VHF radio frequency used for air-to-air communication at United States and Australian non-towered airports. Many towered airports close their towers overnight, keeping the airpo ...

(CTAF) to safely co-ordinate arrivals and departures. Airline operations are limited to the main runway, 03/21, which measures and can be used for instrument approach procedures. The secondary runway, 10/28, does not provide any lighting or approach guidance and is only suitable for aircraft under a

maximum takeoff weight The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) or maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW) or maximum takeoff mass (MTOM) of an aircraft, also known as the maximum structural takeoff weight or maximum structural takeoff mass, is the maximum weight at which the p ...

of . Inside the terminal is a small Qantas Regional Lounge, accessible to Qantas Club and frequent flyer program members, There are two cafes in the public departures lounge, and free

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

is available throughout the terminal. The airport offers both open air and undercover secure paid parking.Coffs Airport Facilities
, Accessed 13 May 2011 Immediately north of the main terminal is a smaller charter terminal that does not provide security screening. The general aviation area, located north of runway 10/28 supports airport related businesses including aircraft maintenance providers, a bulk fuel storage facility, flight training, and

fixed-base operators A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down, and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instructio ...

. There are also a number of community organisations and emergency services located in this precinct, including local units of the

Australian Air Force Cadets The Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC), known as the Air Training Corps (AIRTC) until 2001, is a Federal Government funded youth organisation. The parent force of the AAFC is the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Along with the Australian Ar ...

and

Australian Air League The Australian Air League (AAL) is a not-for-profit, civilian operated aviation organisation in Australia. Its objective is to encourage the spirit of aviation and air-mindedness in the youth of Australia. The Australian Air League receives no ...

, the Coffs Harbour Aero Club, a

New South Wales Rural Fire Service The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting government agency, agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales. The NSW RFS is responsible for fire protection to approximately 95% of the la ...

control centre and facilities for aero medical operators.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Operations

Ground Transport

Forest Coach Lines Forest Coach Lines is an Australian bus and coach operator. Founded in 1930 in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, since 2016 it has expanded with purchases in the Mid North Coast and North West Slopes regions in New South Wales. It became a subsid ...

route 364 provides a regular local bus service linking the airport with the Coffs town centre as well as the southern suburbs of Toormina and Sawtell. Local taxis are also available from the airport, while the a number of regional coach services connect the airport to the surrounding region via the Pacific Highway.

Incidents and accidents

* On 15 May 2003, an

Ambulance Service of New South Wales NSW Ambulance, previously the Ambulance Service of NSW, is an agency of NSW Health and the statutory provider of pre-hospital emergency care and ambulance services in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Established pursuant to the and ...

Beechcraft B200C King Air aircraft had to make an emergency landing at Coffs Harbour Airport, after it hit the sea or a reef near the Coffs Harbour boat harbour, during an instrument approach in heavy rain and poor visibility. One of the main landing gear legs was torn off; there were no injuries.''Final ATSB report into the Coffs Harbour CFIT accident''
, Accessed September 2007 The aircraft was subsequently scrapped.

References

External links

Coffs Harbour Airport

Coffs Airport Security Carpark

Coffs Coast Aviation Centre

Coffs Harbour and District Aero Club

Information on General Aviation and Commercial Training at Coffs Harbour
{{Airports in New South Wales Airports in New South Wales Airports established in 1928 1928 establishments in Australia Coffs Harbour