The airport remained open for use by the Department of Defence C-130 Hercules transport aircraft until the late 1990s. The City of Whyalla, aware of the accelerating damage caused by C-130 operations, asked the Federal Government for financial assistance in upgrading the main runway to accommodate unrestricted C-130 operations. The idea was for the airport to accommodate medium-sized commercial jets as well as the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft. The government declined to offer the City of Whyalla financial assistance to upgrade the main runway. In response, Mayor John Smith stopped all C-130 operations in Whyalla, causing the RAAF to use either RAAF Woomera Airfield or RAAF Base Edinburgh to fly in troops and supplies for the nearby Cultana Training Area.
In 2004, Qantas requested permission to land a Boeing 767 at Whyalla Airport as both Adelaide and Melbourne airports were closed due to fog. Council made the runway available should Qantas need it, but only on the understanding that the Boeing may not be able to take off again. The Qantas Boeing 767 made it safely to its intended destination, but the whole incident highlighted the need for Whyalla to upgrade its main runway to safely accommodate such aircraft in the future. In 2008, the main runway remained substandard for anything other than Saab 340 use or lower.
Whyalla Airport found itself in a difficult position in 2009 as the South Australian mining boom got underway. The city would make an ideal fly in/fly out location for the new mines,[4] but lacks the infrastructure to accommodate commercial jets. The City of Whyalla lacks the funds to initiate an upgrade of the main runway and both the Australian and State Governments are reluctant to financially help out, regardless of which political party is in power.
On Wednesday, 17 September 2008, it was announced that the City of Whyalla were investigating spending over A$4 million on upgrading the airport to accept Boeing 737 aircraft. The study is to determine if the airport upgrade is economically feasible.[5] The study will also look at funding options. As of February 2012, Council does not have the required $4.5 million for the pavement upgrade, but has some plans to improve the terminal facilities.[6] It is hoped some grants will be made available for the upgrade via both the Australian and State Governments. One source of funding the council is looking at is selling some of the airport land (of which there is plenty surrounding the actual airport itself) to raise the required funds.
In 2009, Council started the process of handing over the day-to-day running of the airport to another company. This company is conducting its feasibility study and an answer was expected by August 2009. However, the airport was still operated by the Corporation of the City of Whyalla in July 2012.[2]
A refurbished terminal was completed in mid 2014, with this upgrade allowing QantasLink to begin services to the airport from April the following year.
Annual passenger and aircraft statistics for Whyalla[3]
Year
Revenue passengers
Aircraft movements
2001–02
37,214
4,704
2002–03
36,190
4,302
2003–04
44,048
3,973
2004–05
55,076
4,120
2005–06
64,546
4,511
2006–07
76,091
4,879
2007–08
79,425
3,748
2008–09
68,087
2,996
2009–10
62,401
2,730
2010–11
66,539
2,845
Accidents and incidentsedit
On 31 May 2000, a Piper PA-31-350 aircraft, registration VH-MZK, operated by Whyalla Airlines on flight WW904 crashed in the Spencer Gulf en route from Adelaide to Whyalla. The pilot and seven passengers were killed in the accident. The pilot radioed a mayday transmission when approximately 35 NM (65 km; 40 mi) from Whyalla advising air traffic control he intended to ditch the aircraft in the water if he could not make Whyalla Airport. The last reported position was 15 NM (28 km; 17 mi) from the airport. The subsequent investigation conducted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the aircraft had suffered component failures in both of its engines.[7]
^"Search results for 'Whyalla Airport' with the following datasets being selected – 'Suburbs and Localities', 'Local Government Areas' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
^"Vision 2020 Project:Australian Mineral Industry's Infrastructure Path to Prosperity" (PDF). Minerals Council of Australia. May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
^"Whyalla council assessing airport upgrade". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 September 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
^Kate Bilney (20 February 2012). "Time for an upgrade". Whyalla News. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
^"Aviation Safety Report 200002157" (PDF). Australian Transport Safety Bureau. December 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
whyalla, airport, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Whyalla Airport news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Whyalla Airport IATA WYA ICAO YWHA is an airport located 4 nautical miles 7 4 km 4 6 mi southwest 2 of Whyalla South Australia Whyalla AirportIATA WYAICAO YWHASummaryAirport typePublicOperatorCorporation of the City of WhyallaServesWhyallaLocationMullaquana 1 Elevation AMSL41 ft 12 mCoordinates33 03 32 S 137 30 52 E 33 05889 S 137 51444 E 33 05889 137 51444MapYWHALocation in South AustraliaRunwaysDirection Length Surface m ft 05 23 1 408 4 619 Gravel 17 35 1 686 5 531 ConcreteStatistics 2010 11 Passengers66 539Aircraft movements2 845Sources Australian AIP and aerodrome chart 2 passenger and aircraft movements from the BITRE 3 Contents 1 Background 2 Airlines and destinations 3 Statistics 4 Accidents and incidents 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksBackground editThe Corporation of the City of Whyalla has operated the airport since 1991 when it was handed over by the Australian government By 2009 the main runway s Pavement Classification Number PCN had deteriorated to an 8 which stopped all heavy aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 from using the airport 2 The airport remained open for use by the Department of Defence C 130 Hercules transport aircraft until the late 1990s The City of Whyalla aware of the accelerating damage caused by C 130 operations asked the Federal Government for financial assistance in upgrading the main runway to accommodate unrestricted C 130 operations The idea was for the airport to accommodate medium sized commercial jets as well as the Royal Australian Air Force RAAF aircraft The government declined to offer the City of Whyalla financial assistance to upgrade the main runway In response Mayor John Smith stopped all C 130 operations in Whyalla causing the RAAF to use either RAAF Woomera Airfield or RAAF Base Edinburgh to fly in troops and supplies for the nearby Cultana Training Area In 2004 Qantas requested permission to land a Boeing 767 at Whyalla Airport as both Adelaide and Melbourne airports were closed due to fog Council made the runway available should Qantas need it but only on the understanding that the Boeing may not be able to take off again The Qantas Boeing 767 made it safely to its intended destination but the whole incident highlighted the need for Whyalla to upgrade its main runway to safely accommodate such aircraft in the future In 2008 the main runway remained substandard for anything other than Saab 340 use or lower Whyalla Airport found itself in a difficult position in 2009 as the South Australian mining boom got underway The city would make an ideal fly in fly out location for the new mines 4 but lacks the infrastructure to accommodate commercial jets The City of Whyalla lacks the funds to initiate an upgrade of the main runway and both the Australian and State Governments are reluctant to financially help out regardless of which political party is in power On Wednesday 17 September 2008 it was announced that the City of Whyalla were investigating spending over A 4 million on upgrading the airport to accept Boeing 737 aircraft The study is to determine if the airport upgrade is economically feasible 5 The study will also look at funding options As of February 2012 Council does not have the required 4 5 million for the pavement upgrade but has some plans to improve the terminal facilities 6 It is hoped some grants will be made available for the upgrade via both the Australian and State Governments One source of funding the council is looking at is selling some of the airport land of which there is plenty surrounding the actual airport itself to raise the required funds In 2009 Council started the process of handing over the day to day running of the airport to another company This company is conducting its feasibility study and an answer was expected by August 2009 However the airport was still operated by the Corporation of the City of Whyalla in July 2012 2 A refurbished terminal was completed in mid 2014 with this upgrade allowing QantasLink to begin services to the airport from April the following year Airlines and destinations editAirlinesDestinationsQantasLinkAdelaideStatistics editWhyalla Airport was ranked 51st in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010 2011 3 Annual passenger and aircraft statistics for Whyalla 3 Year Revenue passengers Aircraft movements 2001 02 37 214 4 704 2002 03 36 190 4 302 2003 04 44 048 3 973 2004 05 55 076 4 120 2005 06 64 546 4 511 2006 07 76 091 4 879 2007 08 79 425 3 748 2008 09 68 087 2 996 2009 10 62 401 2 730 2010 11 66 539 2 845Accidents and incidents editOn 31 May 2000 a Piper PA 31 350 aircraft registration VH MZK operated by Whyalla Airlines on flight WW904 crashed in the Spencer Gulf en route from Adelaide to Whyalla The pilot and seven passengers were killed in the accident The pilot radioed a mayday transmission when approximately 35 NM 65 km 40 mi from Whyalla advising air traffic control he intended to ditch the aircraft in the water if he could not make Whyalla Airport The last reported position was 15 NM 28 km 17 mi from the airport The subsequent investigation conducted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the aircraft had suffered component failures in both of its engines 7 See also editList of airports in South Australia Mullaquana South AustraliaReferences edit Search results for Whyalla Airport with the following datasets being selected Suburbs and Localities Local Government Areas and Gazetteer Location SA Map Viewer Government of South Australia Retrieved 8 January 2019 a b c d YWHA Whyalla PDF AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia effective 21 March 2024 Aeronautical Chart a b c Airport Traffic Data 1985 86 to 2010 11 Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics BITRE May 2012 Retrieved 27 June 2012 Refers to Regular Public Transport RPT operations only Vision 2020 Project Australian Mineral Industry s Infrastructure Path to Prosperity PDF Minerals Council of Australia May 2009 Retrieved 18 May 2012 Whyalla council assessing airport upgrade Australian Broadcasting Corporation 17 September 2008 Retrieved 18 May 2012 Kate Bilney 20 February 2012 Time for an upgrade Whyalla News Retrieved 18 May 2012 Aviation Safety Report 200002157 PDF Australian Transport Safety Bureau December 2001 Retrieved 18 May 2012 External links editWhyalla Airport Portals nbsp South Australia nbsp Aviation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Whyalla Airport amp oldid 1186122256, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
