- Advertising Feature
In The Examiner’s Special 8-page Feature (published Friday, May 25, 2018) celebrating 20 years since the Launceston Airport was privatised, we look back at aviation history at Western Junction.
1927 - Australian Aero Club (Tas.) formed on the site (1st air travel facility in Tasmania)
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1929 - Government acquire the site for $41,000. “Western Junction” aerodrome opens
1932 - Small aircraft operate to Flinders Island
1933 - Tasmanian Aerial Services commence Melbourne flights. The Holyman Airways Hangar 17 is constructed.
1940-44 - RAAF use the existing Bellman hangars as the base for No. 7 Elementary Flying Training School
1962 – Major redevelopment delivers runway extension, new terminal building and the airport is re-opened as “Launceston Airport” (1st Australian airport designed for jets)
1998 - May 29, the airport is acquired by Australia Pacific Airports Corporation Pty Ltd (APAL) on a 50-year lease from the Commonwealth, with options for a further 49 years.
2001-04 - Ansett Australia collapses. Virgin Blue and Jetstar’s arrival mark the birth of the Australian low-cost airline market
2007 - The 1m total passenger milestone is reached
2009-10 – $20m redevelopment doubles terminal size, expands retail/café offering, a checked baggage screening facility and two new baggage carousels.
2013 - $6m Southern apron upgrade.
2014 - Airport wins State gold and National silver tourism award. A re-equipped security facility has the first holographic virtual assistant at an Australian airport.
2015 - $11.5m runway resurfacing completed. 20-year Master Plan receives ministerial approval. $6m project delivers a new entrance/exit and road network, taxi staging areas, expanded car parks.
2015/16 - Customer care volunteer team launched. Airport named “Major Airport of the Year” by the AAA. $3.5m terminal transformation delivers a 600sqm expansion and enhancement to shopping/dining facilities and choice, further ambience, signage/wayfinding improvements, Free public Wi-Fi.
2016/17 - Named “Major Airport of the Year” for a second year and awarded “Airport Innovation and Excellence – Commercial” for its terminal transformation. Installed large-scale social media screen promoting tourism dispersal. Second X-Ray doubles screening capability. Installed first large-scale approach road Flight Information screen at an Australian airport. Boags Upper Deck Restaurant and Bar wins Asia-Pacific Region Award for the airport food and beverage outlet best reflecting “Sense of Place”. Retail development wins 2017 Tasmanian Commercial Architecture Award.
2017/18 - A million dollar remediation program is delivered on Taxiway Delta. Named “Major Airport of the Year”. $2.2m spent to re-shape the terminal and re-orientate security screening and retail area. $2.2m spent maintaining Taxiway Alpha and the aircraft parking apron.