Burnie Airport

Updated on Sep 30, 2024

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Airport type Public Location Wynyard, Tasmania Code BWT Phone +61 3 6442 1133		Serves Burnie, Tasmania Elevation AMSL 62 ft / 19 m Elevation 19 m Opened 1 January 1935

Owner/Operator Burnie Airport Corporation Website www.burnieairport.com.au Address 3 Airport St, Wynyard TAS 7325, Australia

Cessna 182 landing at wynyard burnie airport good friday 2015

Burnie Airport (IATA: BWT, ICAO: YWYY), also called Burnie Wynyard Airport or Wynyard Airport, is a regional airport owned by Burnie City Council and is located adjacent to the town of Wynyard, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) west from Burnie, Tasmania, Australia. Before being upgraded and renamed to Burnie airport in 1987, the Wynyard aerodrome was officially opened on the 1st January 1935 by the Prime Minister of the time, Joseph Lyons.

Airlines and destinations

Regional Express Airlines operates services to the airport, flying to and from Melbourne at least 4 times per day using 33,34 and 36 seat Saab 340 turboprop aircraft. The airport is also served by Sharp Airlines, offering flights to King Island and Launceston twice per day using 19 seat Metro 23 (SA-227) turboprop aircraft. Free Spirit Airlines is a new operator, flying to Essendon (Victoria) once on Monday morning, Thursday and Friday evening and Sunday. They are using Metro 23 turboprop which seats 19 passengers. The airport, which underwent a major upgrade late in 2006, contains a shop and a terminal for Regional Express flights plus free car parking.

Ownership

The Burnie Airport Corporation Unit Trust was established in December 2001 and is 51% owned by the Burnie City Council and 49% owned by a private sector partner, the Australian Airports Association. The Trust acquired the Burnie Airport from the Burnie Port Corporation in 2001.

At-Grade Railway Crossing

Until early 2000, Burnie airport had the distinction of having a railway line cross the northern end of runway 05/23, complete with flashing red signals, but without boom gates. Lights would begin flashing approximately 5 minutes before the train was expected to cross the runway, and aircraft were prohibited to land during this time. Since then, the runway has been shortened to no-longer cross the railway line, but the old runway segment is still visible from aerial photography.

The railway line has not been in operation since 2003.

Notable accidents and incidents

On 13 April 1975, after taking off from Burnie Airport, a parachutist was drowned in a dam following a free fall descent 18.5 kilometres (11.5 mi) south of Wynyard. For reasons which have not been determined, the parachutist did not or was unable to control his descent so as to avoid landing in the dam which was some 500 metres (1,600 ft) from the designated drop zone.

On 12 January 1997, a Piper Aircraft Corp PA-28R-180 suffered engine power loss during the initial climb shortly after takeoff. Attempts to recover the engine were unsuccessful and due to the low altitude, the aircraft was stalled into the water at the mouth of the Inglis River about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the aerodrome. The pilot and two passengers suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash. The subsequent ATSB investigation was hindered by the badly damaged aircraft, but it was suspected that the air duct hose had collapsed resulting in reduced air supply to the engine. It was determined that the type of hose was not designated by the manufacturer to be installed in the air inlet system.

Statistics

Burnie Airport was ranked 54th in Australia for the total number of revenue passengers served in the financial year 2015-2016.

References

Burnie Airport Wikipedia

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