Wagga Wagga Airport

History

During 1939, the RAAF were looking to establish an inland training base. Pursuing this, Group Captain A. H. "Harry" Cobby (top scoring World War One ace) contacted Wagga resident Hughie Condon and asked him to suggest possible sites suitable for the establishment of an RAAF station. Condon was well suited to the task, being regional Examiner of Airmen with the Dept. of Defence. He recommended a site at the village of Forest Hill, this being situated about five nautical miles East of Wagga. The site was situated above the Murrumbidgee flood plain and was of suitable dimension. It was already serviced by rail, offered frontage to the Sturt Highway, and was sufficiently distant from the town of Wagga Wagga. Cobby flew to inspect the site, arriving in an RAAF Avro Anson. He agreed with Condon's assessment and the go-ahead was soon given. The identified land was resumed from the Brunskill and Lyons families in the first half of 1939 and before long, a Fearnes bus was shuttling workers to the site. It is of note that this was planned as a permanent base and preceded the Empire Air Training Scheme. At this time the Wagga Wagga Council (not yet a city) operated a civilian aerodrome. This was located on Hammond Avenue, East Wagga. Many other councils had hoped to host the new base. The Mayor of Junee, H.G. Weaver, claimed that Junee was a better choice. He said that Junee was less susceptible to fog, had flatter surrounding terrain and could offer railway workshops (the roundhouse) for aircraft repair. The mayor of Narromine was unhappy that his suggested site was not even inspected. The building layout was carefully designed so as to enable the aircraft landing area to have potential for 'all over' operations. Aircraft could potentially touch down anywhere, in any direction, according to the pilots' operational needs. RAAF Forest Hill became operational on 29 July 1940 and initially was home to 2SFTS. Service Flying Training Schools conducted advanced training of graduates of the Elementary Flying Training Schools. At the close of WW2, civilian flying recommenced. A decision was made to accommodate civilian flying operations at Forest Hill. A Bellman hangar was allocated for civilian use and Mobil/Vacuum installed an aircraft refuelling facility. At this time the council aerodrome on Hammond Avenue fell into disuse. With new transport aircraft, such as the Convair Metropolitan, coming into widespread use, it was decided to construct a bitumen runway. This was timed so as to be completed for Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Wagga in 1954.

On 28 January 1992 the Wagga Wagga City Council secured a 30-year lease from the Commonwealth of Australia which included $2 million to upgrade the airport's runway which can handle a Boeing 737.

In June 2009, Wagga Wagga Airport was listed third for the world's strangest sounding airports.

In December 2009, the airport had undergone a $2.2 million upgrade to increase its capacity for future growth and to improve the security at the airport.

On 27 May 2010, Anthony Albanese announced that the federal government would provide funding worth A$1.05 million, as part of the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program, to the Wagga Wagga City Council for the installation of the A$1.63 million Instrument Landing System (ILS), which were only found in all of Australia's capital cities. The ILS was commissioned by Airservices Australia on 16 December 2010.

Passenger statistics

In the 2010-11 financial year the airport recorded 213,923 passengers which made it the 31st busiest airport in Australia.

Heavy maintenance

Regional Express Engineering heavy maintenance facility is based at Wagga Wagga Airport which provides maintenance for Saab 340 and Fairchild Metro SA-277 aircraft.

Pilot academy

In February 2009, Regional Express Airlines announced that the Australian Airline Pilot Academy (AAPA) was relocated from Mangalore Airport in Victoria to Wagga Wagga Airport on 1 April 2009, in partnership with the City of Wagga Wagga.

On 27 May 2010, AAPA campus at Wagga Wagga Airport was officially opened by Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese.

Future

Wagga Wagga City Council publicly released the Wagga Wagga Airport draft master plan in April 2010, which is to establish direction for future development at the airport over a 20-year period. Part of the master plan includes blueprints for a new airport terminal, capability to accommodate jets and business ventures.

In April 2011, a joint tender for security upgrades for baggage and passenger screening was called for Wagga Wagga, Tamworth and Dubbo Airports, which is to be completed by July 2012. Wagga Wagga City Council will receive A$650,000 from the federal government to purchase the baggage and passenger screening equipment, with the council funding A$162,000 to install the equipment.

In the 2011-12 financial year, Wagga Wagga City Council will develop a commercial aviation precinct at a cost of A$6.8 million, to attract aviation industries to the airport. Council will also allocate A$1.5 million for construction of 29 hangars for general aviation. The airport improvements funding will be partly paid by the introduction of parking fees at the airport's carpark.

In September 2011, it was announced that Douglas Aerospace would be centralising its operations at the airport by April 2012, which will see the council's construction of two hangars speeded up.