Newcastle Airport was opened as Williamtown Civilian Airport in 1947 after a charter flight landed at the RAAF Base, Williamtown. In 20 February 1948 scheduled commercial operations commenced at the Airport.
The Commonwealth Government continued to run the Airport until 1990 when City Of Newcastle and Port Stephens Council accepted an invitation by the Government to jointly operate the civil area.
The two councils accepted full responsibility for operating, maintaining and development what was to become Newcastle Airport. As a consequence, Newcastle Airport Limited, a company limited by guarantee was formed on 25 May 1993 by the two councils and a 30-year lease was signed for 23 hectares including the site of the terminal and land for commercial development. The lease was modified in 2005 to a 40-year lease (terminating March 2045) and to include an additional five hectares of land.
New terminal facilities opened in March 1975 by the Federal Minister for Transport, Mr Charles Jones. In 1994 and 2000 Newcastle Airport underwent further major upgrades which included the doubling of the terminal floor area, total refurbishment of the interior and exterior of the building and the provision of office suites for airlines.
After further growth, Newcastle Airport underwent another major upgrade in 2005 which doubled the terminal floor area, introduced a retail precinct, doubled the departures and arrivals areas, provided additional office suites and upgraded the car parking and road systems.
Today, Newcastle Airport is serviced by all the major domestic airlines that provide services to the major destinations along the east-coast of Australia. The Airport is significantly contributing to the domestic and international growth of business and tourism to the surrounding region.
For more information visit the Newcastle Airport website.