Dubbo City Airport

Dubbo City Airport Dubbo City Regional Airport Aerial view of Dubbo City Airport IATA: DBO – ICAO: YSDU Summary Airport type Public Operator Dubbo City Council Serves Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia Elevation AMSL 935 ft / 285 m Coordinates 32°13.0′S 148°34.5′E / 32.217°S 148.575°E / -32.217; 148.575Coordinates: 32°13.0′S 148°34.5′E / 32.217°S 148.575°E / -32.217; 148.575 Website dubbo.nsw.gov.au/... Map YSDU Location of airport in New South Wales Runways Direction Length Surface m ft 05/23 1,708 5,604 Asphalt 11/29 1,067 3,501 Asphalt Statistics (2009-2010) Revenue passengers 171,339 Aircraft movements 6,627 Sources: Airservices Australia,[1] BITRE[2] Departure lounge at Dubbo Airport post refurbishment Check in area at Dubbo Airport post refurbishment

Dubbo City Airport (IATA: DBO^[3], ICAO: YSDU), is a regional airport serving Dubbo, a city in the Australian state of New South Wales.^[1] The airport is located 2 nautical miles (4 km) northwest of Dubbo and is operated by the Dubbo City Council.^[1] It is also known as Dubbo Airport or Dubbo City Regional Airport.

History

Airplanes began landing in Dubbo in the 1920s, though it wasn't until 1935 that land was purchased for an official airport. During World War II, the airport was reconstructed to be a military airport. The airport runway was redone by the Department of Civil Aviation in 1969, and a terminal was opened in 1970. The Dubbo City Council accepted ownership of the airport on July 1, 1970. The airport has been used for scheduled, charter, and freight services since then.^{[citation needed]}

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation of 935 feet (285 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 05/23 measuring 1,708 by 45 metres (5,604 × 148 ft).11/29 measuring 1,067 by 18 metres (3,501 × 59 ft).^[1]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
QantasLink	Sydney
Regional Express	Broken Hill, Sydney

Former airlines

• Air Link (Bourke, Cobar, Coonamble, Lightning Ridge, Sydney, Walgett) - Air Link ceased to run scheduled services in 2009. It is now a charter airline now owned by Regional Express.
• Ansett Australia (Sydney) - Airline went bankrupt in 2002.
• Hazelton / Kendell (Sydney, Broken Hill, Orange, Gold Coast, Brisbane)

Virgin Australia

Dubbo was one of the twenty destinations looked at by Virgin Australia (formerly known as Virgin Blue) for services to Sydney using its new Embraer aircraft.^[4] As of April 2011, Virgin Australia has not announced the launch of services to Dubbo. When Virgin Australia launched an advertising campaign for their Velocity Rewards scheme, they said "Why take a holiday in Dubbo when you've been dying to go to Vanuatu?". The city took offence at this statement saying that it was portraying Dubbo as a boring place. This incident occurred during the time of scouting. The airline subsequently withdrew the ad and apologised to the city.^[5] In February 2011, the airline announced the purchase of 18 ATR 72 aircraft, with the chief aim of increasing presence in regional areas. This may see the airline launch services to Dubbo, as well as other regional airports.

Incidents

• At Dubbo Airport there is a concern of animal and bird strikes. There has been an accident near the airport in July 2009 where a small aerobatic plane crash landed in a paddock near the airport.^{[citation needed]}

• In April 2010, it was found that the PIN to access the secure areas of the airport such as the tarmac was taped to the gate above the keypad. This was deemed "not acceptable" by Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese. Despite this security breach, the airport managed to pass a security audit in 2009.^[6]

Statistics

Dubbo Airport was ranked 34th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2009-2010.^[2]

Annual passenger and aircraft statistics for Dubbo^[2]

Year	Revenue passengers	Aircraft movements
2001-02	104,197	8,686
2002-03	107,576(+3.2%)	8,916(+2.6%)
2003-04	128,560(+19.5%)	10,236(+14.8%)
2004-05	152,943(+19.0%)	10,550(+3.1%)
2005-06	155,805(+1.9%)	10,826(+2.6%)
2006-07	171,026(+9.8%)	10,294(-4.9%)
2007-08	189,883(+11.0%)	9,470(-8.0%)
2008-09	173,032(-8.9%)	7,397(-21.9%)
2009-10	171,339(-1.0%)	6,627(-10.4%)

See also

• List of the busiest airports in Australia
• List of airports in Australia

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} YSDU – DUBBO (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 25 August 2011
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Airport Traffic Data 1985-86 to 2009-10". Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). June 2010. http://www.bitre.gov.au/info.aspx?ResourceId=191&NodeId=96. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
3. ^ "Dubbo Airport (DBO / YSDU)". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/airport/airport.php?id=DBO. 
4. ^ "Virgin Blue to consider Orange as new destination". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 5 June 2007. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/05/1942370.htm. 
5. ^ "Virgin Blue gets it wrong". TravelMole.com. http://www.travelmole.com/stories/106156.php. 
6. ^ Alison Rehn and David Barrett (10 April 2010). "Dubbo airport PIN taped to security gate". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/dubbo-airport-pin-number-taped-to-security-gate/story-e6frfq80-1225852130691. 

External links

• Dubbo City Regional Airport at Dubbo City Council site
• Dubbo Aero Club
• Images of airport terminal at Australian Monitor site