Illawarra Regional Airport (also known as Wollongong Aerodrome) is located at Airport Road, off the Princes Highway, Albion Park Rail, Shellharbour.
The airport is a gateway to the Illawarra Region, which incorporates the business centre and university of Wollongong and the coastal and rural tourist attractions of Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama.
The Airport is less than 1 hour travel by car from the southern suburbs of Sydney. The train station (Albion Park Rail) is 5 minutes walk from the airport terminal building. There is an electric train service to Sydney via Wollongong (train services also extend to Kiama and the Shoalhaven).
Illawarra Regional Airport is a licensed airport that is regulated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). It is security-controlled as defined by the Aviation Transport Security Act (2004), which is regulated by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (formerly DOTARS).
The Emergency Services are well represented within the airport precinct with the recent establishment of the NSW Rural Fire Service Regional Control Centre, the NSW Fire Brigade training facility, the NSW Ambulance helicopter rescue service and the Australian Aerial Patrol search & rescue and summer beach/shark patrol sevices. The combined capability and ability to resource share greatly improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the various agencies to respond to signficant emergencies within the Illawarra Region and, in particular, possible airport emergencies.
Shellharbour City Council’s role as owner of the airport is to manage the operation of the airport within the constraints of the regulators. There are two groups that assist Council with the day to day airport operations and the future development of the airport:
The Illawarra Regional Airport Management Advisory Committee advises Shellharbour City Council on policy and strategies to encourage business growth and development at the airport and to strengthen the airport role in providing transport services, tourism and business opportunities within the region. The committee comprises of Council and regional business representatives.
- The Illawarra Regional Airport Operations Working Party meets six monthly to advise on airport operational issues, annual airport maintenance programs, fees and charges, and development applications within the airport. Aircraft activity complaints are also reviewed as these meetings. The Working Party comprises of Council staff, a representative from each operator or tennant at the airport and two local community representatives. The community representatives are appointed by Council for a two-year period. The current representatives are Catherine Massey (4256 8447) and Neville Pearson (4256 6162).
photo taken by Harry Mitchell