Bathurst Airport is an airport serving Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.
Located in the Central Tablelands, Bathurst Airport is not served by any airline. The airport's history dates to just prior the Second World War when local politicians campaigned for an airport for Bathurst. The war prompted the Federal Government to establish the aerodrome during the war years, immediately following the war commercial air services commenced with passenger flights to Sydney. Today several flying schools operate at the airport and it is used frequently by trainee pilots during their navigation training. It is a popular destination for many pilots, mostly trainee pilots from Bankstown and Camden Airports in the Sydney Basin.
The airport has two primary runways: one fully sealed and one partially sealed with a 150 meter section of grass at one end. The airport also has one secondary runway used for glider traffic. The main runway, taxiway and apron have lighting facilities which are pilot-activated.
There were 8,000 landings in 2010 which included recreational flying, business jets, charters, regular passenger flights, emergency services, and Air Force flights. The airport is owned, managed and maintained by the Bathurst Regional Council.
Facilities
Navigational aids
Automatic weather station
Non Directional Beacon Radio Transmitter (NDB) Aerodrome Frequency Response Unit "Beep Back" (frequency identifying Bathurst Airport) Private aircraft hangars Air conditioned passenger terminal Unrestricted car park (security video surveillance) Public transport – taxi stand
History
On 2 December 1920 (predating the airport's opening) one of the earliest flights to land in Bathurst arrived with mail from Sydney. The aircraft, owned by the Bathurst Aviation Service Company, landed on a paddock at Kelso. 17 years later, in July 1937, General Air Transport commenced a weekly freight service transporting fresh fish from Nowra to Bathurst. This weekly flight landed in a paddock near to town and the lack of an aerodrome for Bathurst was noted in correspondence relating to this new air freight service.
The airport's history starts between 1937 and 1939 when the municipal council investigated several sites considered suitable for an aerodrome. What finally forced the federal government to act on a site was the Second World War; in 1942 a military airfield was opened at Raglan to take overflow traffic and aircraft parking from the overcrowded Richmond Air Base in Sydney's west.
A chronological list of events that document the development of the airport is below: