Hervey Bay Airport

Hervey Bay Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorFraser Coast Regional Council
ServesHervey Bay, Queensland, Australia
Elevation AMSL60 ft / 18 m
Coordinates25°19′14″S 152°52′54″E / 25.32056°S 152.88167°E / -25.32056; 152.88167
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Map
YHBA is located in Queensland
YHBA
YHBA
Location in Queensland
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
11/29 2,000 6,562 Asphalt
Statistics (2016–2017[1])
Revenue passengers170,052
Aircraft movements3,496
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[2] BITRE[3]

Hervey Bay Airport (IATA: HVB[4], ICAO: YHBA) is the main airport for the city of Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia and the Fraser Coast region which incorporates the nearby city of Maryborough.

The airport, which is located 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) southeast of Pialba,[2] re-opened in mid-2005, after the existing airfield underwent an $11.5 million upgrade which included the construction of a new terminal building and the extension of the existing 1,500 m (4,921 ft) runway to 2,000 m (6,562 ft) to accommodate jet services from Virgin Australia.

Up until September 2006, Sunshine Express Airlines provided daily services to the airport from Brisbane. The airline ceased all scheduled operations on 1 October 2006 after a proposed acquisition by Regional Express Airlines was terminated and an intention by QantasLink for the introduction of Brisbane services was announced.[5][6][7]

In 2006, the airport was the fastest growing in Queensland with passenger numbers almost doubling.[8] Currently, plans are underway to further upgrade the airport to handle more jet services from other Australian capital cities. These plans involve the extension of the terminal to twice its current size, as well as a new cross runway (smaller than the main runway) to be used for general aviation purposes.[9][10]

In June 2017, Fraser Coast mayor Chris Loft and JETGO announced that the airline would commence two direct services per week from Hervey Bay Airport to Melbourne's Essendon Airport, as well as direct services to Brisbane. Due to have commenced on 21 July 2017, the service never commenced due to a lack of bookings. Direct services to and from Brisbane were also cancelled after JETGO entered voluntary administration later that year.[11]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference fiscal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b YHBA – Hervey Bay (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 13 June 2024, Aeronautical Chart Archived 27 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference BITRE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Hervey Bay Airport (HVB / YHBA)". Aviation Safety Network.
  5. ^ "Sunshine Express pulls out of scheduled flights". Australian Broadcasting Association. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  6. ^ "Rex Terminates Deal with Sunshine Express". Regional Express Holdings Limited. Archived from the original on 2 September 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  7. ^ "QantasLink to Launch New Services to Hervey Bay and Biloela". Qantas Airways Limited. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  8. ^ Daryl Passmore (29 April 2007). "Airports on a high". The Sunday Mai. Queensland Newspapers. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  9. ^ "Hervey Bay City Council – Airport Master Plan". Hervey Bay City Council. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  10. ^ "Hervey Bay-Melbourne route sought". The Australian. Retrieved 7 May 2007. [dead link]
  11. ^ "False Start: Flights from Hervey Bay to Melbourne delayed". Fraser Coast Chronicle. Retrieved 21 July 2017.