Broome International Airport Explained

Broome International Airport
Image2-Width:	250
Iata:	BME
Icao:	YBRM
Type:	Public
Operator:	Broome International Airport
Location:	Broome, Western Australia
Elevation-F:	57
Coordinates:	-17.9497°N 122.2278°W
Pushpin Map:	Western Australia#Australia
Pushpin Label:	YBRM
Mapframe:	yes
Website:	www.broomeair.com.au
Metric-Rwy:	Y
R1-Number:	10/28
R1-Length-M:	2,368
R1-Surface:	Asphalt
Stat-Year:	2010/11
Stat1-Header:	Passengers
Stat1-Data:	409,663
Stat2-Header:	Aircraft movements
Stat2-Data:	5,828
Footnotes:	Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart^[1] passenger and aircraftmovements from the BITRE

Broome International Airport is a regional airport located 0.4NM west of the Broome GPO, Western Australia.

Broome International Airport is the regional hub of the northwestern part of Western Australia. It is considered the gateway to the Kimberley region. In the year ending 30 June 2011 the airport handled 409,663 passengers. It is ranked the 20th busiest airport in Australia.^{[2] [3]}

History

World War II The airport field was attacked on the morning of 3 March 1942, during World War II. The attack on Broome resulted in at least 88 deaths. The airport field was being used by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and allies, the Japanese raid destroyed at least 22 aircraft, parts of which are still on display to this day at Broome Historical Museum.

PostwarThe airport runway was extended in around 2004–2006. It also has had several upgrades to helicopter infrastructure. It is home to state-of-the-art firefighting equipment.

The airport entry road, Macpherson Road, is named after the man who helped pioneer the town. The road was purpose built for the cable that ran from 200 meters east of vine walking trail at a junction box now enclosed in private property to Broome Court House, formerly Cable House.

From 18 November 2010 Broome International became a Class D non-radar controlled aerodrome which means that aircraft are separated by air traffic controllers based on estimates provided by pilots and reporting their distances and altitudes from the airfield.

The Kimberly Qantas lounge was upgraded in 2014–2015 when the terminal had landscaping and maintenance work carried out.

SilkAir operated four charter flights to Broome from Singapore; the first flight began on 22 May 2018 and the last flight operated on 2 June 2018. This was repeated in 2019.

A Qantas A330 landed in Broome on 14 May 2019 after an electronics failure on QF44 DPS-SYD, making it the largest aircraft to ever land there.^[4]

Operations

Busiest domestic routes into and out of Broome Airport
(FY 2012)^[5]

Rank	Airport	Passengers carried	% change
1	Perth Airport	313,627	2.7

Accidents and incidents

• On 21 January 1974, Douglas C-47A PK-GDC of the Burmah Oil Co was damaged beyond economic repair in an accident.^[6]
• On 11 July 2012, a Piper PA-34 Seneca of Golden Eagle Airlines crashed into sand dunes near the runway threshold. The aircraft, registration VH-LCK was operating a scheduled cargo flight to Port Hedland in good weather conditions at night. The pilot was the sole occupant. He was killed in the accident.^[7] Investigations by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau into the cause of the accident found that the collision was due to a likely loss of engine power.^{[8] [9]}

See also

• Attack on Broome
• Broome Seaplane Base
• Australian Overland Telegraph Line
• List of airports in Western Australia
• Aviation transport in Australia
• Submarine communications cable

External links

• Airservices Aerodromes & Procedure Charts

Notes and References

1. , Aeronautical Chart
2. [Fiscal year]
3. Web site: Airport Traffic Data 1985–86 to 2010–11 . Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) . May 2012 . 27 June 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120324180211/https://www.bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoing/files/WebAirport_FY_1986-2011.xls . 24 March 2012 . Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"
4. Web site: Thomas. Geoffrey. Cordingley. Glenn. Qantas Bali flight diverts to Broome after electrical fault. The West Australian. 14 May 2019. 26 June 2022.
5. Web site: Domestic Totals & Top Routes July 2004 – March 2013 . Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) . May 2013 . 16 June 2013. Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"
6. Web site: PK-GDC Accident description . Aviation Safety Network . 23 August 2010.
7. Web site: Press Release . Golden Eagle Airlines . 12 July 2012 . 17 July 2012 .
8. Web site: Investigation AO-2012-093. Australian Transport Safety Bureau. 17 May 2016.
9. Web site: WAToday Online. 12 July 2012 .