Rockhampton Airport
Description
Rockhampton Airport is a major Australian regional airport in West Rockhampton that services the city of Rockhampton, with direct flights to the cites of Brisbane, Gladstone and Mackay. It also operates connecting flights to the cities of Townsville and Cairns. The Airport previously operated direct flights to Sydney, Townsville and Melbourne but were cancelled due to lack of passenger numbers. The Airport runway has the capability to handle aircraft such as the A380, B747 & B777 types.In 2011, the airport handled 701,062 passengers and 12,606 aircraft movements, a drop from the 2010 figure of 777,212 passengers and 14,602 aircraft. The drop is attributed in part to the airport being closed for three weeks in January due to the 2010–2011 Queensland floods.HistoryEfforts to locate a permanent aerodrome site in the city had been proceeding for a number of years in the 1920s. The City Council and the Federal Government, however, could not come to an arrangement as to a suitable site. Prior to 1930, a number of locations within the city had been used for the operation of aircraft, all on a non-official basis and none suitable for long term use.