Ayers Rock Airport

Ayers Rock Airport Connellan Airport Ayers Rock/Connellan Airport
IATA: AYQ ICAO: YAYE
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia Pty Ltd
Location	Ayers Rock
Elevation AMSL	1,626 ft / 496 m
Coordinates	25°11′10″S 130°58′32″E / 25.18611°S 130.97556°E / -25.18611; 130.97556Coordinates: 25°11′10″S 130°58′32″E / 25.18611°S 130.97556°E / -25.18611; 130.97556
Map
YAYE Location in the Northern Territory
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 13/31 2,599 8,527 Asphalt
Statistics (2010-11)
Passengers 309,089 Aircraft movements 4,017
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart Passengers and movements from BITRE

Ayers Rock Airport (also known as Connellan Airport) (IATA: AYQ, ICAO: YAYE) is situated near Yulara, around 463 km (288 mi) (5 hrs drive) away from Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and 20 minutes drive from Uluru (Ayers Rock) itself. An average of just under 300,000 passengers per year pass through this airport in the middle of Australia.

Connellan Airport was originally started by Edward Connellan. He started an airline called "Connellan Airways" which specialised in transport, Royal Flying Doctor Service and mail runs. The planes that were used in this airline were usually "Butterflies" which were given to them from Qantas, Douglas DC3s, and a few other planes. The development of tourism infrastructure adjacent to the base of Uluru that began in the 1950s soon produced adverse environmental impacts. It was decided in the early 1970s to remove all accommodation-related tourist facilities and re-establish them outside the park. In 1975, a reservation of 104 km² (40 sq mi) of land beyond the park's northern boundary, 15 km (9.3 mi) from Uluru, was approved for the development of a tourist facility and an associated airport, to be known as Yulara. The new facilities became fully operational in late 1984.

On 6 August 2000, an Ansett Airbus A320-211, arrived from Auckland Airport, New Zealand, carrying the Sydney Olympic Torch for its inaugural Australian leg. From there, the torch was taken for a run around Uluru, followed by a formal reception.

Ayers Rock Airport has one main terminal for scheduled flights.

The largest aircraft that Ayers Rock Airport caters for is Boeing 737-800s operated by Virgin Australia. QantasLink operate a number of Boeing 717-200s in and out of the airport. Jetstar has from the 4th of June 2013 operated flights to and from Sydney and Melbourne using Airbus A320 aircraft.