- 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.
Most people would agree that the cost of travelling by air is one of the most significant and welcome changes since commercial flights began.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
No longer an expensive exercise limited to society’s well off – flights to Melbourne and beyond can be secured for not much more than a bus fare.
Considering the infrastructure, technology, skills and those magnificent flying machines needed to move people large distances – it’s remarkable how airlines have adapted over time.
Launceston Airport is no exception to the evolution of airline travel – always changing and expanding and finding more streamlined processes to meet the expectations of the travelling public.
An example of this is what the industry calls the “airside flip”, where the necessary security checks take place well before entering the boarding lounge.
There were often very long security lines as passengers had themselves and their luggage scanned en masse.
Now passengers and friends and family all go through security as soon as they arrive at the airport terminal.
The change has removed the pressure point and rush that would happen when passengers wait until the boarding call to clear security.
More people are going through security, but across a broader time period and passengers can still spent time with their loved ones right up until the last minute.
The Launceston Airport has embarked on the compilation of its 2020 Master Plan, a blueprint for the future development of the airport over a 20-year horizon with an emphasis on the first five to eight years.
The Master Plan includes information relating to forecast growth, terminals and facilities, runways and estate and incorporates ground transport and environmental management plans.
Works are currently underway at the Launceston Airport to improve the pavement on the taxiway and aircraft parking bays.
The maintenance work comes more than 40 years since the concrete was first installed.
The $2.5 million remediation works will take six to eight weeks to complete.
Airport planning and development manager Ilya Brucksch-Domanski said the preventative works would not cause any disruption to the airport’s operations.
“[The project] is ensuring longevity of the airfield is maintained over time,” Mr Brucksch-Domanski said.
Airport general manager Paul Hodgen said the works had been planned for about two years.
“It’s our low season in terms of aircraft movement and we have contingency procedures in place where aircraft backtrack along the runway.”