Airnorth
Encyclopedia
Regional airline
Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
based on the property of Darwin International Airport
Darwin International Airport
Darwin International Airport is the busiest airport serving the Northern Territory and the tenth busiest airport in Australia. It is the only airport serving Darwin....
in Marrara
Marrara, Northern Territory
Marrara is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.-History:Shown on Goyder's original surveys of Darwin in 1869 was the swamp between the suburb and the Darwin International Airport, but it, like Leanyer, is believed to be derived from an Aboriginal name for the...
, Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It operates scheduled and charter services in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, with an extension to East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
. Its main base is Darwin International Airport
Darwin International Airport
Darwin International Airport is the busiest airport serving the Northern Territory and the tenth busiest airport in Australia. It is the only airport serving Darwin....
, with a hub at Maningrida Airport
Maningrida Airport
Maningrida Airport is an airport serving Maningrida, Northern Territory, Australia. It is operated by Maningrida Council Inc.-Facilities:The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 14/32 with an asphalt surface measuring .-Airlines and...
.
History
The airline was established in 1978 and started operations on 4 July that year. It operated charter flights only until scheduled services were introduced in 1981. It was formerly known as Air North International. In October 2003 Airnorth acquired the assets of Airlines of South Australia (ASA) with the intention of gradually merging the two companies and operating under Airnorth's Air Operator's CertificateAir Operator's Certificate
An air operator's certificate is the approval granted from a national aviation authority to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and system in place to ensure the safety of its employees and the general public...
. In March 2004 Airnorth acquired the assets of Emu Airways
Emu Airways
Emu Airways was an airline based in Adelaide in Australia operating tourist flights to nearby Kangaroo Island. It was part of the RegionalLink Airlines group which also included Airnorth and Airlines of South Australia .- History :...
, but in 2005 sold off both ASA and Emu. Airnorth is owned by Skyport Group (55%), QTEC (31%) and John Gamble (14%). On 9 November 2005, ASA and Emu Airways ceased operations.
Airnorth is part of a new coalition of regional air services in Australia, RegionalLink Airlines, put together by Darwin-based aviation services company Capiteq Limited. This is Australia's first airline franchise operation. All of the participating airlines will continue to trade in their local markets under their own names, the logos of which will be featured on the fuselages of aircraft within the group.
In May 2004 Airnorth signed a contract with Indonesian operator Merpati Nusantara Airlines
Merpati Nusantara Airlines
Merpati Nusantara Airlines is a commuter airline based in Central Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is a major domestic airline operating scheduled services to more than 25 destinations in Indonesia, as well as scheduled international services to East Timor and Malaysia. Its main base is...
to provide services between Darwin and Kupang
Kupang
Not to be confused with Tanjung Kupang in JohoreKupang is the provincial capital of East Nusa Tenggara province in southeast Indonesia....
in West Timor
West Timor
West Timor is the western and Indonesian portion of the island of Timor and part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara, .During the colonial period it was known as "Dutch Timor" and was a centre of Dutch loyalists during the Indonesian National Revolution...
using Embraer Brasilia aircraft.
Incidents and accidents
On 22 March 2010, two Airnorth crew members were killed while conducting routine ongoing training, when one of its 30-seater Embraer EMB 120 BrasiliaEmbraer EMB 120 Brasilia
-Accidents:*Brazilian Air Force on July 8, 1988 an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasília registration FAB-2001 crashed during and engine-out landing at São José dos Campos. Five of the 9 occupants died....
aircraft crashed into bushland near the RAAF Base Darwin
RAAF Base Darwin
RAAF Base Darwin is a Royal Australian Air Force base located in the city of Darwin, Northern Territory. The base shares its runway with Darwin International Airport.-History:...
golf course, shortly after take off from the main runway at Darwin International Airport approximately 1010am (ACST
Time in Australia
Australia uses Standard time, i.e: the same well defined time for a region. The proper names of Australia's time zones are Australian Western Standard Time , Australian Central Standard Time , and Australian Eastern Standard Time...
).
Services
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- Domestic scheduled destinations: BroomeBroome, Western AustraliaBroome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season...
, DarwinDarwin, Northern TerritoryDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, GoveGove PeninsulaThe Gove Peninsula is at the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. The peninsula became strategically important during World War II when an airforce base was constructed at what is now Gove Airport. The peninsula was named after Pilot Officer William Gove, who...
, Groote EylandtGroote EylandtGroote Eylandt is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northeastern Australia. It is the homeland of, and is owned by, the Anindilyakwa people who speak the isolated Anindilyakwa language)....
, KarrathaKarratha, Western Australia-Facilities:A range of hotel, motel, B&B and caravan/RV accommodation is available for visitors. However, as the town is booming, accommodation is often hard to come by.The town has restaurants, a tavern, two hotels and two night clubs...
, KununurraKununurra, Western AustraliaKununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern extremity of the Kimberley Region approximately from the border with the Northern Territory. Kununurra was initiated to service the Ord River Irrigation scheme....
, ManingridaManingrida, Northern TerritoryManingrida is a self-governing indigenous community in the heart of the Arnhem Land region of Australia's Northern Territory. Maningrida is located 500 km east of Darwin and 300 km north east of Jabiru. It is on the North Central Arnhem Land coast of the Arafura Sea, on the estuary of the Liverpool...
, Milingimbi, Elcho IslandElcho IslandElcho Island is an island off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Wessel Islands group located in the East Arnhem Region. The island's largest community is the settlement of Galiwin'ku....
, McArthur River mine, Mount IsaMount Isa, Queensland-Culture and sport:The local theatre group, the Mount Isa Theatrical Society, or MITS, often holds plays and musicals, at least once every few months or so....
, PerthPerth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Port HedlandPort Hedland, Western AustraliaPort Hedland is the highest tonnage port in Australia and largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with a population of approximately 14,000 ....
and to the Gold CoastGold Coast, QueenslandGold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, Townsville(Begins 17 February)
- International scheduled destinations: DiliDiliDili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
(East Timor).
- Domestic charter destinations: Argyle diamond mineArgyle diamond mineThe Argyle Diamond Mine is a diamond mine located in the East Kimberley region in the remote north of Western Australia. Argyle is the largest diamond producer in the world by volume, although due to the low proportion of gem-quality diamonds, is not the leader by value. It is the only known...
, Horn IslandHorn Island, Torres StraitHorn Island is an island in the Torres Strait, in Queensland's north between the Australian mainland and Papua New Guinea...
, TruscottMungalalu Truscott AirbaseMungalalu Truscott Airbase, which during World War II was known as Truscott Airfield is today a commercial air field in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia. The airbase falls under the traditional ownership of the Wunambal Gaambera people...
and the Tiwi IslandsTiwi IslandsThe Tiwi Islands are part of Australia's Northern Territory, north of Darwin where the Arafura Sea joins the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island and Bathurst Island, with a combined area of ....
.
Fleet
As of August 2011 the Airnorth fleet consists of the following aircraft:- 3 Embraer 170
- 4 Embraer EMB 120 BrasiliaEmbraer EMB 120 Brasilia-Accidents:*Brazilian Air Force on July 8, 1988 an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasília registration FAB-2001 crashed during and engine-out landing at São José dos Campos. Five of the 9 occupants died....
- 3 Fairchild Metro 23Fairchild Swearingen MetrolinerThe Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....
On 9 July 2008 Airnorth announced that the airline would acquire and operate its second Embraer 170 through a Lease/Purchase contract with Jetscape; it was the first Embraer 170-AR (Advanced Range) to be built and was delivered to Airnorth from the Embraer factory in April 2009. A third E-170 formerly operated by defunct SkyAirWorld
SkyAirWorld
SkyAirWorld was a scheduled and charter airline based in Brisbane, Australia. It provided a range of services including charter work for the Australian military, and has also provided wet-leases for other carriers, particularly airlines in the South Pacific....
was added to the fleet in April 2010.