Tamworth Airport Tamworth Regional Airport | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Passenger terminal in October 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Tamworth Regional Council | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Tamworth, New South Wales,Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,334 ft / 407 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 31°05′02″S150°50′58″E / 31.08389°S 150.84944°E /-31.08389; 150.84944 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||||||
  YSTW Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2016–17) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sources: AustralianAIP and aerodrome chart.[1] Passengers (financial year[2]) fromBITRE.[3] Aircraft movements (calendar year) fromAirservices Australia.[4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Tamworth Airport (IATA:TMW[5],ICAO:YSTW) is aregional airport servingTamworth, a city in theAustralianstate ofNew South Wales.[1] It is located 10 km (6.2 mi) from the town centre, on New Winton Road.[6] The airport is owned and operated by theTamworth Regional Council and is listed as being 5nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) west of the city.[1][7] It is also known asTamworth Regional Airport.[7]
Tamworth Airport is the northern base of the Hunter RegionWestpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service.
No. 6 Elementary Flying Training School of theRoyal Australian Air Force was formed in 1940, during theSecond World War, at the original airfield (located in what is now the Taminda industrial area) as part of theEmpire Air Training Scheme.[8] Training included 50 hours of basic aviation instruction on a simple trainer like theTiger Moth. Pilots who showed promise went on to advanced training at aService Flying Training School. Others went on to different specialties, such as Wireless Schools, Air Observer Schools or Bombing and Gunnery Schools. The RAAF airfield went on to become the original home of East West Airlines afterWorld War II.
In 1951 a decision was taken to relocate the aerodrome with the council commencing construction in 1952 and the official opening of the new airport in 1956. The airport received a further upgrade to medium jet standard in 1982. The addition of the 1,110 m (3,642 ft) parallel runway and associated facility expansion was undertaken between 1990 and 1993 as part of the establishment of the British Aerospace/Ansett pilot training joint venture which has evolved into the Bae systems college. Bae systems withdrew from Tamworth Airport in 2020 and the college facilities were re-branded as International Flight Training Tamworth (IFTT), under the ownership of Tamworth Regional Council, with CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Tamworth remaining on site.
The Tamworth Airport terminal expansion was completed in June 2012, to facilitate the commencement of passenger screening. A further expansion was carried out in 2014 to accommodate operations by additional carriers.[citation needed]
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the flight training school was converted into accommodation for the local boarding schoolFarrer Memorial Agricultural High School to comply with social distancing regulations.[citation needed]
The airport resides at anelevation of 1,334 ft (407 m) abovemean sea level. It has twoasphalt pavedrunways: 12L/30R measuring 2,200 m × 45 m (7,218 ft × 148 ft) and 12R/30L measuring 1,110 m × 18 m (3,642 ft × 59 ft). It also has two runways with agrassed brownclay surface: 18/36 measuring 1,020 m × 30 m (3,346 ft × 98 ft) and 06/24 measuring 842 m × 30 m (2,762 ft × 98 ft).[1] The latest terminal upgrade was completed in 2019 with an enlarged departure lounge, new cafe and hire car facilities, relocated and enlarged Qantas lounge in addition to a multipurpose function room and airport administration office.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Link Airways | Brisbane,[9]Sydney[10] |
| QantasLink | Brisbane,[11]Sydney |
Tamworth Airport wasranked 38th in Australia for the number ofrevenue passengers served infinancial year 2022–2023.[2][3]
| Year[2] | Revenue passengers | RPT movements |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 80,984 | 6,169 |
| 2002–03 | 68,029 | 4,859 |
| 2003–04 | 75,274 | 4,717 |
| 2004–05 | 86,503 | 5,040 |
| 2005–06 | 92,634 | 4,979 |
| 2006–07 | 98,199 | 3,510 |
| 2007–08 | 107,312 | 3,185 |
| 2008–09 | 116,669 | 2,911 |
| 2009–10 | 134,972 | 4,041 |
| 2010–11 | 153,680 | 4,566 |
| 2016–17 | 189,628 | 5,309 |
| 2017-18 | 191,853 | 5,243 |
| 2020-21 | 58,397 | 1,900 |
| 2022-23 | 153,638 | 3,988 |
