Welcome to our newest Monthly Segment, Aviation Avenue which will now be posted monthly on the 2nd Saturday of the Month. This feature will discuss aviation in NSW, it being one of the most important forms of transport for many people. This month we will be looking at Sydney “Kingsford Smith” Airport
The first flight took of the original private airfield on the current site took off in 1919. The alnd was bought by the government in 1923 and flights began in 1924. The Airport was progressively upgraded with gravel runways opened in 1933 and in the 50s paved runways large enough for jet plane were bulit. It was named Kingsford Smith Airport after games Aussie aviator Charles Kingsford Smith in 1936.
A new international terminal was opeedn by Queen Elizabeth II on 3 May 1970 with the first 747 arriving on 4 October 1970. Various extensions have since been bulit. A third runway was later bulit on reclaimed land in 1994. In 1995 a curfew was added to the airport. More recently, futher terminal upgrade works and works on other facilities are ongoing.
Today there are 3 terminals.
- T1 is used for all International Flights
- T2 is used for most Domestic Flights
- T3 is the Qantas terminal used for Qantas and QantasLink Domestic flights.
The airport is served by 48 passenger airlines with flights to various destinations through Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North and South America. In 2016, 41 870 000 passengers passed through the airport making it the 38th busiest in the world and busiest in Australia. The airport serves as a hub for Jetstar Australia, Qantas Airways, Regional Express Airlines, Tigerair Australia and Virgin Australia. The busiest route of the airports to Melbourne, which is the 4th busiest air route in the world with over 8 million passengers travelling on the route last year.
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Transport NSW Blog 