North Queensland airports re-open after Cyclone Koji
By Andrew Curran.
Four North Queensland airports have re-opened after a significant weather event over the weekend. Airlines cancelled flights as Townsville (TSV), Proserpine (PPP), Mackay (MKY), and Hamilton Island (HTI) Airports closed down ahead of Cyclone Koji on Saturday, January 10.
The category one cyclone made landfall southeast of Townsville on Sunday morning, local time.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Qantas, Jetstar, and Virgin Australia pre-emptively cancelled flights to Hamilton Island, Townsville, Mackay, and Proserpine airports.
The cyclone’s intensity was downgraded before it hit the coast, but it was still featured winds up to 100 kilometres per hour, intense rainfall, and flash flooding.
“We’re closely monitoring (the) tropical low off the coast of Far North Queensland,” advises the Qantas website, adding that they would contact affected passengers.
Strong cross-winds close Townsville Airport
Townsville Airport, the tenth busiest in Australia according to the most recent Australian Government data, closed mid-afternoon on Saturday, January 11, due to strong cross-winds. It re-opened later on Sunday.
Cairns Airport, around 350 kilometres further north, escaped the worst of the weather and remained open, although airlines have cancelled some flights, including SmartLynx Australia’s service between Cairns and Proserpine and Qantas flights to Townsville.
Mackay, Proserpine, and Hamilton Island Airports remained closed across Sunday but all three airports are open for business on Monday.
There are some cancellations on Monday morning, mostly for flights that would have been operated by aircraft stationed at the closed airports overnight. As those aircraft did not land on Sunday evening, they were not available to operate Monday morning's flights. However, by mid-morning Monday, arrivals and departures appear to be normalising.
Mackay Airport typically handles around 20 daily scheduled aircraft movements on weekends. The airport is serviced by Qantas, Jetstar, and Virgin Australia from Townsville, Rockhampton (ROK), and Brisbane (BNE).
Slightly further north and the closest airport to where Koji made landfall, Proserpine Airport handles approximately 25 daily scheduled aircraft movements on weekends and is usually serviced by Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, and Smart Lynx Australia. The airport has direct flights to Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), and Adelaide (ADL).
100 kilometre per hour winds hit Hamilton Island Airport
Off the coast, Hamilton Island Airport normally sees around 14 daily scheduled aircraft movements on Saturdays and Sundays. Qantas, Virgin Australia, and East Air fly to Hamilton Island from Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne.
“Hamilton Island are actively engaging with government agencies and monitoring weather conditions and alerts, with the safety of our guests, staff and residents remaining our highest priority,” the resort’s website reads.
“Gales with damaging wind gusts up to 100 kilometres per hour are currently occurring through the Whitsunday Islands,” warned Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology on Sunday morning. “Locally intense rainfall, which may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding, is possible between Ayr and Mackay.”
The latest Australian Government statistics place Mackay, Proserpine, and Hamilton Island Airports as Australia’s 14th, 18th, and 19th busiest airports (measured by monthly passenger traffic).
Photo credits: Townsville Airport, Bureau of Meteorology, Proserpine Airport.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com