Sydney Airport (also known as Kingsford Smith International Airport) , is located in the Sydney suburb of Mascot. It is the major airport serving Sydney, and is a major hub for Qantas. Sydney Airport is one of the oldest continually operated airports in the world, and the busiest airport in Australia, handling 31.9 million passengers and 290,346 aircraft movements in 2007. It was the 28th busiest airport in the world in 2003, however, as of 2008 fails to meet the list. The airport is managed by Sydney Airport Corporation Limited (SACL) and the current CEO is Russell Balding.

Situated next to Botany Bay, the airport has three runways, colloquially known as the "East-West" and two "North-South" runways. In terms of land area, it is the smallest capital city airport in Australia.

Transport

History

Originally declared an aerodrome in 1920 (then known as Sydney Airport), it was renamed Sydney (Kingsford Smith) International Airport in 1953, in honour of Charles Kingsford Smith, a pioneering Australian aviator.

The airport's first runways were built in 1933, all in gravel. Some small streams where some of the present runways are located were also filled. By the 1960s the need for a new international terminal had become apparent, and work commenced in late 1966. The new terminal was officially opened on May 3, 1970, by Queen Elizabeth II. The first Boeing 747 'Jumbo Jet' to serve the airport, Pan American's 'Clipper Flying Cloud' (N734PA), arrived on October 4, 1970. In the 1970s the north-south runway was expanded to become one of the longest runways in the southern hemisphere. The international terminal was expanded in 1992 and has undergone several refurbishments since then.

In the 1960s, the limitations of having only two runways that crossed each other had become apparent. Various governments grappled (or failed to grapple) with the issue of Sydney's airport capacity for decades. Eventually the highly controversial decision to build a third runway (parallel to the existing main "North-South" runway, but entirely on land reclaimed from Botany Bay) was taken, and the much-anticipated proposed new airport on the outskirts of Sydney was shelved indefinitely.

Even once the "third runway" (as it is universally known to Sydneysiders), had been built, it remained controversial because of increased aircraft movements, especially over many of Sydney's inner suburbs. The 1990s saw the formation of the No Aircraft Noise Party, which gained support in areas of Sydney affected by aircraft noise. However, there has been general acquiescence in the arrangements for Sydney Airport that were introduced by the Howard government shortly after its election, namely to -

1. maintain curfews (extremely limited jet movements 2300-0600)
2. rotate runway operation, and fan flightpaths out (instead of concentrating them, as had previously been the case)
3. use, whenever possible, flightpaths over water, especially Botany Bay
4. continue the use of noise abatement (reduced power settings, etc) on departure.

In 2002, the Australian Government sold Sydney Airports Corporation Limited (later renamed to Sydney Airport Corporation Limited), the management authority for the airport, to Southern Cross Airports Corporation Holdings Ltd. This is majority owned by a number of Macquarie Bank infrastructure investment funds. It holds a 99 year lease on the airport which remains Crown land.

Since the international terminal's original completion, it has undergone two large expansions, and the entire airport is currently undergoing a large expansion stretching over twenty years (2005 - 2025). This expansion will include the addition of a high-rise office block, the construction of a multi-level car park, the expansion of both the international and domestic terminal. This latest expansion - and other plans and policies by Macquarie Bank for airport operations - are seen as controversial, due to the fact that the local councils, which usually act as the local planning authority for such developments, have no jurisdiction over the airport. As of April 2006, some of the proposed development has been scaled back.

Curfew

The curfew prevents aircraft from taking off or landing between the hours of 11pm and 6am. During extreme weather, flights are often delayed and it is often the case that people on late flights are unable to travel on a given day.

Second airport proposals

Sydney has been seeking a second airport since 1964. Between 1987 and 1999-2000 domestic flights though Sydney more than doubled to nearly 27 million and international passengers increased from 8 million to 15 million in the same period. Almost half of all scheduled flights in Australia land or take off at Kingsford Smith, and the airport dealt with 45% of international passengers in 1998. As a tentative first step, the Commonwealth has bought most of the land needed for a second airport, at Badgery's Creek, just west of Sydney. To be accessed by the Westlink M7 motorway, there are currently three proposals for the layout of the airport, featuring different arrangement of terminals in the centre of the proposed three runways.

A second airport rose again in 2008 when the Rudd Federal Government was elected. Convinced capacity at the current airport will be exhausted it begun a search for a new site. It is believed various options, including a freight-only airport operation will be considered. Camden, converting part or all of Richmond and Canberra are all to be investigated for feasibility. Bankstown and Badgerys Creek, according to sources are not to be put forward.

Operations

Airlines and destinations

Sydney Airport has three main terminals, referred to as T1 (or, to most locals, the "International Terminal"), T2 (the former "Ansett Domestic Terminal"), and T3 (the "Qantas Domestic Terminal"). The international terminal is separated from the other terminals by a runway which results in the need to allow for more time for passenger connections.

See also

• List of Australian airports
• Transport in Australia
• Airport and East Hills railway line, Sydney - Airport Rail Connection
• RAAF Mascot

References

External links

• Sydney Airport Homepage
• Sydney Tower
• ERSA Sydney Airport FAC
• Sydney Airport Frequency and Airway Data