Brisbane Airport - History

History

Due to its flat surface, Eagle Farm, originally a farming area, was announced as an aerodrome in 1925. Although Qantas started operations there in 1926, most of the flights in Brisbane operated at the Archerfield Airport, which contained a superior landing surface. While in operation, Charles Kingsford Smith landed there on 9 June 1928, after completing the first trans-pacific flight in his Fokker F.VII, the Southern Cross. There is now a museum containing the original aircraft, along with a memorial located within the Brisbane Airport precinct.

During the Second World War, Brisbane was the headquarters of the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in the South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur. The United States armed forces upgraded the airfield to cater for military flights, bringing it to such a standard that it became the main civilian airport for the city.

By the 1970s it was clear that the facilities at Eagle Farm were inadequate for a city of Brisbane's size and anticipated growth. Many long-haul international services to Asia were required to make an en route stop (i.e. Darwin), disadvantaging the city to lure prospective carriers and business opportunities.

The domestic terminals for T.A.A. and Ansett were reached from Lamington Avenue - near the Doomben Racecourse. The main runway ran from there to the north-east, and its north-east end survives as taxiway Papa of the present airport. The international terminal was in the earlier years, on the same apron as the domestic terminals, but in 1975 a new terminal was built near the other end of the runway, and was used for the next twenty years.. This terminal is now the cargo terminal for Brisbane Airport.

The Federal Government announced the construction of a new airport to be built immediately north of Eagle Farm. The new airport was built by Leighton Holdings and opened in 1988 with a brand new domestic terminal and two runways. The new airport was built on the former Brisbane residential suburb of Cribb Island that was demolished to make way for the airport. Large amounts of sand were pumped from nearby Moreton Bay to bring much of the swampy land above the range of tides.

The new facilities included: a domestic terminal; new state-of-the-art maintenance facilities; new freight apron at the existing passenger terminal; two runways (one is 3500 meters long and other is 1700 meters) with parallel taxiway systems (cater for Code F+ aircraft); new access roads and parking facilities; and as well as a new 75 m (246 ft) tall ATC tower. In 1995 the current international terminal opened, and it has been expanded since that time.

As part of the privatisation of numerous Australian airports, the airport was acquired from the Federal Airports Corporation on a 99 year lease by a consortium of governmental and financial interests led by Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, which now holds the management contract for the facility. The airport is also a partner in the Australia TradeCoast economic development zone.