Ayers Rock Airport

Ayers Rock Airport (also known as Connellan Airport) (IATA: AYQ, ICAO: YAYE) is situated near Yulara, around 463 km (288 mi) (5 hrs drive) away from Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and 20 minutes drive from Uluru (Ayers Rock) itself. An average of just under 300,000 passengers pass through this airport each year.[4]

Ayers Rock Airport

Connellan Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorVoyages Indigenous Tourism Australia Pty Ltd
LocationYulara[1]
Elevation AMSL1,626 ft / 496 m
Coordinates25°11′10″S 130°58′32″E
Map
YAYE
Location in the Northern Territory
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
13/31 2,599 8,527 Asphalt
Statistics (2010-11[2])
Passengers309,089
Aircraft movements4,017
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[3] Passengers and movements from BITRE[4]

History

The original Connellan Airport at Uluru was provided by Edward Connellan, who founded Connellan Airways in 1942. The development of tourism infrastructure adjacent to the base of Uluru that began in the 1950s soon created adverse environmental impacts. It was decided in the early 1970s to remove all accommodation-related tourist facilities from near the base of Uluru and re-establish them outside the national park. In 1975, a reservation of 104 km2 (40 sq mi) of land beyond the national park's northern boundary, 15 km (9.3 mi) from Uluru, was approved for the development of a tourist facility, to be known as Yulara, along with a new airport. The new facilities became fully operational in late 1984. On 6 August 2000, an Ansett Australia Airbus A320 arrived from Auckland Airport in New Zealand, carrying the Sydney Olympic Torch for its inaugural Australian leg. From there, the torch was taken for a run around Uluru, followed by a formal reception.

Facilities

Ayers Rock Airport has one main terminal for scheduled flights. The runway at Ayers Rock Airport is 2,599 m × 30 m (8,527 ft × 98 ft). It has a simple, single stage lighting system and T-VASIS. The largest aircraft that Ayers Rock Airport caters for used to be Boeing 737-800s operated by Virgin Australia.

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Jetstar Airways Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney
Qantas Adelaide, Darwin
QantasLink Alice Springs, Cairns

See also

References
  1. "Place Names Register Extract for "Connellan Airport"". NT Place Names Register. Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  2. Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June
  3. YAYE – Ayers Rock/Connellan (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 05 Nov 2020, Aeronautical Chart Archived 10 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Airport Traffic Data 1985-86 to 2010-11". Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). May 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012. Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"

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