Christmas Island Airport

Christmas Island Airport
IATA: XCH – ICAO: YPXM
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Toll Remote Logistics
Location	Christmas Island
Elevation AMSL	916 ft / 279 m
Coordinates
Map
XCH Location on a map of the Indian Ocean
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 18/36 2,103 6,900 Asphalt
Statistics (2010/11)
Passengers 27,286 Aircraft movements 428
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart Passenger and aircraft movements from the BITRE

Christmas Island Airport (IATA: XCH, ICAO: YPXM) is an airport located on Christmas Island, a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. The island is located 2,600 km (1,600 mi) northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, 500 km (310 mi) south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and 975 km (606 mi) east-northeast of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Although located on Australian territory, the airport is classified as a Category 2 international airport for all arrivals, including those from Australia. It is owned by the Commonwealth through the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development and is operated under contract by Toll Remote Logistics.

History

Map of Christmas Island showing location of airfield

From the late 1940s, when the island was still a British colony administered by Singapore and the Straits Settlements Administration, it was serviced occasionally by Royal Air Force (RAF) Short Sunderland flying boats before the construction of the airport.

Tampa crisis

A brief revival of the "old days" happened in 2001 during the Tampa crisis when the heightened Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) traffic was complemented by a large number of Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and media charters. During this incident, traffic at the airport is said to have been "near-continuous".

Satellite launch facility

After the closure of the casino, the resort was taken over by the Asia Pacific Space Centre, which developed plans for a satellite launch facility on Christmas Island. The company, with solid financial participation from the Australian Government, had planned to start satellite launches in 2004. Technical staff was to include 350-400 Russian rocket scientists and engineers, and componentry was to be flown in on Antonov An-124 and Boeing 747 freighters. To achieve this, the airport would need major extensions, and the Government allocated around A$55m to the task. This included a 600 m (1,969 ft) runway extension, plus additional taxiways, apron space, and other infrastructure, and resulted in a major review of the airport master plan, which is still current today.

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation of 916 ft (279 m) above sea level. It has one runway designated 18/36 with an asphalt surface measuring 2,103 m × 45 m (6,900 ft × 148 ft).

The airport's location at the top of a hill, with a 2% mid-runway gradient, makes it a challenging landing for pilots.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Virgin Australia	Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Perth

Traffic to and from the airport varies greatly. Along with regular flights to the Australian mainland, the airport receives open charter flights from Jakarta with Indonesia AirAsia. Historically airlines such as Malaysia Airlines and SilkAir travelled to the island. Tourist attractions such as the migration of the Christmas Island red crab and the island's Christmas Island Resort have caused spikes in traffic levels. The construction of an immigration detention centre on the island resulted in a temporary increase in RAAF and DIMIA arrivals..

Statistics

Christmas Island Airport is a quiet airport and served 27,286 revenue passengers during financial year 2010-2011.

Annual passenger and aircraft statistics for Christmas Airport

Year	Revenue passengers	Aircraft movements
2001-02	6,515	229
2002-03	8,778	303
2003-04	7,504	249
2004-05	8,125	255
2005-06	8,093	256
2006-07	8,072	262
2007-08	8,594	412
2008-09	6,665	246
2009-10	14,287	395
2010-11	27,286	428

See also

• List of airports in territories of Australia

External links

• Christmas Island Airport case study

• Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June
• YPXM – Christmas Island (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 3 March 2016, Aeronautical Chart
• Refers to "Regular Public Transport (RPT) operations only"