Whitsunday Coast Airport , also known as Proserpine Airport, is located in Gunyarra,

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia, south of Proserpine. The airport serves the mainland and offshore islands with flights to

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(

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, and

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(Jetstar).Airport Flight Departures
Airport Guide In 2024 the airport served 500,000 passengers.It is expected that by 2035 the airport will be handling in excess of 900,000 passengers.

History

Plans to build an airfield in Proserpine commenced in 1936, however construction was delayed due to a lack of funding. Construction of the airport finally began in 1950. The aerodrome was officially opened on 3 November 1951. In September 2001, the airport suffered heavily from the collapse of

Ansett Australia Ansett Australia, originally Ansett Airways, was a major Australian airline group based in Melbourne, Victoria. The company operated domestically within Australia, and from the 1990s, to destinations in Asia. Following 65 years of operation, ...

, who at the time were the biggest operator out of Proserpine with direct services to

and

. It also operated seasonal flights to the Gold Coast and

. The airport underwent an upgrade in 2010. The upgraded terminal was officially opened on 20 December 2011. In January 2014, Whitsunday Regional Council announced it was to discuss with the

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the state Legislative Assembly, with the governo ...

the process for designating the airport precinct a PDA (Priority Development Area). This would make the future process of extending the runway the relatively short distance required to receive international services easier and to alleviate the industrial land crisis that has been affecting the Whitsunday Region for many years.

Airlines and destinations

Public Transport

Whitsunday Transit operate bus services from the airport.

Accidents and incidents

* On 9 August 1981 a Cessna 210 departed the airport for

Bankstown Airport Bankstown Airport is an airport and business park located in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, approximately from the Sydney central business district (CBD), Australia, and west of Sydney Airport. It is situated on of land and has three para ...

. The plane disappeared over the

Barrington Tops Barrington Tops is part of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia, between Gloucester and Scone. In 1934, the area was difficult to access and was described as being "not traceable to any man-made feature". Part of the area has ...

in NSW and has never been located (see 1981 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 disappearance). * On 11 May 1990 a Cessna 500 Astec Eagle departed the airport for

Mareeba Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the water ...

containing local government staff, the plane subsequently crashed south of Mareeba Airport killing all 11 people on board. * On 2 April 2009 a

Robinson R22 The Robinson R22 is a two-seat, two-bladed, single-engined, light utility helicopter manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company. It was designed in 1973 by Frank D. Robinson, and has been in production since 1979. Development The majority of ...

helicopter piloted by a 36-year-old man conducting training of a 26-year-old passenger crashed, the older man sustained head injuries.

References

External links

Dick Smith safety report on Proserpine TowerDepartment of Infrastructure and Planning - Whitsunday Coast Airport terminal upgrade
{{Airports in Queensland Airports established in 1946 Airports in Queensland Proserpine, Queensland Whitsunday Region 1946 establishments in Australia