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Brisbane
Airport (IATA: BNE, ICAO: YBBN) is located
in the Brisbane suburb of Eagle Farm,
Queensland, Australia.
Brisbane Airport has an
International Terminal, a Domestic Terminal
and a cargo terminal. Both of the passenger
terminals have a number of shops and
cafeterias.
The airport won Best Privatised
Airport of 2005 by the International
Air Transport Association IATA. A $280
million dollar upgrade is in the beginning-execution
stages at the International Terminal.
Brisbane's $400 million parallel runway
project is close to a reality after
a dramatic rise in passenger numbers
over the last 3 years. Annual passenger
numbers in Brisbane are expected to
reach more than 22 million by 2012 and
more than 35 million by 2023.
Brisbane Airport is accessible
by road from Brisbane's Gateway Motorway
and from the city, and by rail using
the AirTrain
service that is linked to the area's
commuter system. A new Airport Link
motorway is planned to connect the Brisbane
CBD and airport.
Brisbane's original main
airport was Archerfield aerodrome to
the south-west of the CBD. A smaller
airstrip existed at Eagle Farm, which
was where the Southern Cross first landed
in Australia after its trans-Pacific
flight in 1928.
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 considerably upgraded Eagle
Farm airfield to cater for military
flights. After the war this became Brisbane's
main civilian airport with many of the
original hangers used as passenger and
freight terminals, up to the 1980s.
By the 1970s it was clear
that the facilities at Eagle Farm were
inadequate for a city of Brisbane's
size and anticipated growth. The Federal
Government announced the construction
of a new airport to be built immediately
north of Eagle Farm.
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.
In 1995 the Australian
Federal Government announced it would
be selling its airports around Australia.
The airport was acquired on a 50 year
lease by a consortium of governmental
and financial interests led by Amsterdam
Schiphol Airport, which now holds the
management contract for the facility.
In line with Schiphol's overall policy,
Brisbane Airport is now at the heart
of a master-planned "Airport City"
development and a partner in the Australia
TradeCoast economic development zone.
Proposals to build a parallel
runway eventually (when it is necessary)
have been the subject of controversy
led by some local politicians. This
was a key element of the airport's Master
Plan, approved by the Australian Government
in 2003. Under federal law, developments
at major Australian airports do not
require approval by local or state planning
authorities. [citation needed]
An Airport Link
motorway has been proposed to allieviate
congestion on airport approach roads
and nearby suburbs.
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