Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport

Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport
IATA: WTB – ICAO: YBWW
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner/Operator Wagners
Serves Toowoomba
Location Wellcamp
Time zone UTC+10:00 ()
Elevation AMSL 1,509 ft / 460 m
Coordinates 27°33′30″S 151°47′36″E / 27.55833°S 151.79333°E / -27.55833; 151.79333Coordinates: 27°33′30″S 151°47′36″E / 27.55833°S 151.79333°E / -27.55833; 151.79333
Website www.wellcamp.com.au
Map
YBWW

Location in Queensland

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
12/30 9,420 2,870 Asphalt

Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport (IATA: WTB, ICAO: YBWW) is an airport in Wellcamp, 8.4 nautical miles (15.6 km; 9.7 mi) west from the CBD of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

The airport and an associated aviation and business park is the brainchild of the Wagner family, a local prominent business family in the Toowoomba region. BWWA is the first major greenfield public airport development in Australia since Melbourne Airport opened in 1970. It is also the first privately funded major airport in the country.[2]

The runway is 2870 m long by 45 m wide,[1] and capable of handling aircraft to Boeing 747 size.[2] The airport is rated at Code E, and can handle aircraft up the B747-400 and B747-8 models. The airport is estimated to have a catchment area of 344,000 people. From YE Dec 2014 to YE Dec 2015 handled 70,300 passengers, whilst handling 6,700 a month a 67.3% growth from the previous year, making it the 44th busiest regional airport in Australia annually and 40th busiest monthly.[3]

History

The Toowoomba region has not been serviced by a jet capable airport at any time in the city's history. The extant Toowoomba Airport at Wilsonton in suburban Toowoomba has been historically restricted in development due to local council land development policy and poor local planning, although a runway extension in 2011 allowed for improved turbine RPT services.

The Darling Downs and Surat Basin regions have been subject to significant growth between 2005 and 2013, primarily due to coal mining and coal seam gas exploration. This industrial expansion coupled with the development of a transport hub and industrial estate at Charlton (10 km west of Toowoomba) has provided the land corridor immediately west of Toowoomba with government endorsed transport development opportunities.

Construction on the site, a former quarry owned by the Wagner family since 1994 began in April 2013, with an ambitious timeframe for completion by October 2014.[4]

On 22 November 2013, a Beech King Air owned and piloted by John Wagner became the first aircraft to land on the new runway. On 15 January 2014, the first concrete for the terminal building was poured.[5] In June 2014, work began on sealing the runway and movement areas using EFC, a low-carbon cement free concrete developed by Wagners' boosting the airport's green credentials.[6]

On 17 November 2014, the first regular public transport service commenced between Sydney Airport and Wellcamp airport.[7]

On 23 November 2015, the first jumbo aircraft arrived from Sydney. The Cathay Pacific 747 freighter aircraft made a brief stop en route from Sydney Airport to Hong Kong to collect produce bound for China.[8]

On 24 December 2015, services to Cairns and Melbourne with Airnorth were announced to commence in March 2016.

Controversy

The Wagner family submitted to the amalgamated Toowoomba Regional Council a plan for a large scale airport and industrial development in 2012, utilising an extant planning code from the pre-amalgated council statutes. The submission occurred on the last available day prior to post-amalgamation planning codes taking effect. This resulted in a diminished requirement for community consultation which was met with scepticism by some media and local residents.[9]

The initial submission was also completed without consultation with local airspace owners, primarily the Department of Defence, which controls much of the local airspace via the Oakey and Amberley military restricted airspace zones.[9] This has subsequently required considerable consultation, and has been complicated by effective endorsement of the privately funded public airport development at all governmental levels despite potential impacts on the Department of Defence.[10] Changes to the military airspace around Oakey and Amberley were subsequently announced in November 2013 to allow the continuation of military flying activities at these bases and civilian operations from Wellcamp once it became operational.[11]

The Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Graham Quirk, expressed opposition to the use of the name "Brisbane West" for an airport 130 km (81 mi) west of Brisbane, saying it would mislead visitors.[12]

Transport hub

The main terminal building.

The airport is placed to exploit the future development of transport and industry at Charlton. The new airport location is adjacent to the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, a proposed bypass of Toowoomba. The section of the bypass (between Charlton and Athol) passing the airport will be a single carriageway only. The airport location is also near the planned Australian standard gauge inland rail corridor which would link Melbourne with Brisbane, thus providing a potential road-air-rail hub.

Aviation school

In December 2014 the airport announced the development of an aviation education precinct, a joint project with the Airline Academy of Australia and University of Southern Queensland, to train pilots and offer courses in aircraft maintenance, engineering and electronics.[13] The first students commenced training in February 2015.[14]

Projected future

The airport is expected to act as a major air freight hub, including live livestock export via air. The terminal is projected to be 9,000 square metres on opening, and have the capacity to be developed to handle in excess of 500,000 passengers annually by 2019.[15] Due to its proximity to Brisbane and long runway, it is expected that Brisbane West Wellcamp will become an alternative for diverted domestic and international flights when weather conditions prevent landing at Brisbane and Gold Coast Airports.[4]

Airlines and destinations

On 3 September 2014, Qantas became the first airline to announce regular services from the airport.[16][17]

QantasLink check in counter, cafe and Southern Cross SC-1 prototype on display.

Regional services operated under contract to the Government of Queensland transferred from Toowoomba Airport to Wellcamp on 1 January 2015.[18]

AirlinesDestinations
QantasLink operated by Eastern Australia Airlines Sydney
Airnorth Cairns, Melbourne [19]
Regional Express Airlines Western 1 Route St George, Cunnamulla, Thargomindah

Western 2 Route Brisbane, Charleville, Quilpie, Windorah, Birdsville, Bedourie, Boulia, Mount Isa [20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "FAC YBWW" (PDF). En Route Supplement Australia (ERSA). Airservices Australia. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 Cameron Atfield (9 January 2014). "Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport nearing completion". Brisbane Times (Fairfax Digital). Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport rapidly taking shape". Australian Aviation. Phantom Media. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 Cameron Atfield (22 May 2014). "Brisbane West Wellcamp airlines almost lined up: Wagner". Sydney Morning Herald.
  5. ↑ Chris Calcino (15 January 2014). "PHOTOS: First concrete poured at airport terminal". The Chronicle (Toowoomba Newspapers). Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Doug Nancarrow (21 May 2014). "Wellcamp Airport on track for year-end opening". Aviation Business Asia-Pacific.
  7. ↑ Cameron Atfield (17 November 2014). "Toowoomba's Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport airport to have first flights". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Community to visit airport to watch history in making". Chronicle.
  9. 1 2 Nick Cater (25 November 2013). "ADF battles fast-track airport". The Australian.
  10. ↑ Calcino, Chris (15 December 2012). "New airport will put Oakey under cloud". The Chronical.
  11. ↑ Calcino, Chris (27 November 2013). "Department of Defence puts Wellcamp Aiport [sic] fears to rest". The Chronical.
  12. ↑ "Get your own name, Brisbane Lord Mayor tells new Toowoomba airport". Brisbane Times. 14 January 2014.
  13. ↑ Wellcamp launches aviation school, Australian Aviation, 5 December 2014
  14. ↑ "First aviation students touch down at Wellcamp". Toowoomba Chronicle. 1 February 2015.
  15. ↑ (11 March 2013) Daryl Passmore. High-flying family build own airport in Toowoomba. The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 15 January 2014
  16. ↑ "Qantas will use new Queensland airport". Brisbane Times. 3 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "AIRPORT TAKES FLIGHT WITH QANTAS DEAL". Qantas Airways Limited. 3 September 2014.
  18. ↑ "Rex soars in Queensland as Skytrans falters". Brisbane Times. 15 October 2014.
  19. ↑ "Destination: Melbourne and Cairns". Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  20. ↑ http://www.rex.com.au/Schedules/_lib/pdf/QLD%20PDF%20timetables.pdf
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