Whitsunday Coast Airport

Proserpine Airport Whitsunday Coast Airport
IATA: PPP ICAO: YBPN
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Whitsunday Regional Council
Operator	Whitsunday Regional Council
Location	Proserpine, Queensland, Australia
Elevation AMSL	82 ft / 25 m
Coordinates	20°29′42″S 148°33′06″E / 20.49500°S 148.55167°E / -20.49500; 148.55167Coordinates: 20°29′42″S 148°33′06″E / 20.49500°S 148.55167°E / -20.49500; 148.55167
Map
YBPN Location in Queensland
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 11/29 2,073 6,801 Asphalt 06/24 1,100 3,608 Unmarked Asphalt
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart

Proserpine Airport (IATA: PPP, ICAO: YBPN) (also known as Whitsunday Coast Airport) is located 14 kilometres south of Proserpine in Queensland, Australia. The airport is the main gateway for travelers to and from the Whitsunday Islands with Jetstar Airways and Virgin Australia operating flights to Brisbane.

In the year ending 30 June 2014, the airport handled 282,000 passengers.

Plans to build an airfield in Proserpine commenced in 1936, however construction was delayed due to a lack of funding. Construction of the airport finally began in 1950. The aerodrome was officially opened on Saturday 3 November 1951.

In September 2001, the airport suffered heavily from the collapse of Ansett Australia, who at the time were the biggest operator out of Proserpine with direct services to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. It also operated seasonal flights to the Gold Coast and Adelaide.

The airport underwent an upgrade in 2010. The upgraded terminal was officially opened on 20 December 2011.

In January 2014, Whitsunday Regional Council announced it was to discuss with the Government of Queensland the process for designating the airport precinct a PDA (Priority Development Area). This would make the future process of extending the runway the relatively short distance required to receive international services easier and to alleviate the industrial land crisis that has been affecting the Whitsunday Region for many years.