Adelaide Airport

Adelaide Airport (IATA: ADL, ICAO: YPAD), also known as Adelaide International Airport, is the principal airport of Adelaide, South Australia and the fifth-busiest airport in Australia, servicing 8.5 million passengers in the financial year ending 30 June 2019.

Adelaide Airport (IATA: ADL, ICAO: YPAD), also known as Adelaide International Airport, is the principal airport of Adelaide, South Australia and the fifth-busiest airport in Australia, servicing 8.5 million passengers in the financial year ending 30 June 2019. Located adjacent to West Beach, it is approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) west of the city centre. It has been operated privately by Adelaide Airport Limited under a long-term lease from the Commonwealth Government since 29 May 1998.First established in 1955, a new dual international/domestic terminal was opened in 2005 which has received numerous awards, including being named the world's second-best international airport (5–15 million passengers) in 2006. Also, it has been named Australia's best capital city airport in 2006, 2009 and 2011.Over the financial year 2018/19, Adelaide Airport experienced passenger growth of 7% internationally and 1.3% for domestic and regional passengers from 2017's quarterly report; this added up to a new record number of passengers who passed through Adelaide Airport at 8,090,000 over the financial year. Adelaide Airport also experienced the greatest international growth out of any Australian port.

An early "Adelaide airport" was an aerodrome constructed in 1921 on 24 ha (59 acres) of land in Albert Park, now Hendon, which took over from the Northfield Aerodrome. The small facility allowed for a mail service between Adelaide and Sydney. To meet the substantial growth in aviation, Parafield Airport was developed in 1927. The demand on aviation outgrew Parafield and the current site of Adelaide Airport was selected at West Torrens (known as West Beach until 1991) in January 1946. An alternative site at Port Adelaide, including a seaplane facility, was considered inferior and too far from the central business district Construction began and flights commenced in 1954. Parafield Airport was turned into a private and military aviation facility.

An annexe to one of the large hangars at the airport served as a passenger terminal until the Commonwealth Government provided funds for the construction of a temporary building.In May 1998, Adelaide Airport Limited purchased the long-term leases of Adelaide Airport and Parafield Airport from the Commonwealth of Australia. As at April 2015, the shareholders of Adelaide Airport Limited comprised Unisuper (49%), Statewide (19.5%), Colonial (15.3%), IFM Investors (12.8%), Perron Group (3.4%).In 2005 a dual-use $260 million facility replaced both the original 'temporary' domestic and international terminals. The old domestic terminal was closed shortly after the new terminal was opened to flights and was demolished not long after. A new control tower was built west of the current terminal with the old control tower maintained for additional operations.

In October 2006, the new terminal was named the Capital City Airport of the Year at the Australian Aviation Industry Awards in Cairns. In March 2007, Adelaide Airport was rated the world's second-best airport in the 5–15 million passengers category at the Airports Council International (ACI) 2006 awards in Dubai.Plans were announced for an expansion of the terminal in July 2007, including more aerobridges and demolition of the old International Terminal.On 5 August 2008 Tiger Airways Australia confirmed that Adelaide Airport would become the airline's second hub which would base two of the airline's Airbus A320s by early 2009. On 29 October 2009 Tiger announced it would be housing its third A320 at Adelaide Airport from early 2010. Tiger Airways later shut down its operations from Adelaide only to recommence them in 2013.In 2011 the airport encountered major problems during the eruption of Puyehue volcano in Chile. The ash cloud caused flights to be cancelled nationwide, with over 40,000 passengers stranded in Adelaide.

International services became regular from 1982 upon the construction of an international terminal.

The original international terminal had only one gate with limited space for passengers. Check-in desks were small and waiting space was limited. It was partially demolished to make the area more secure and allow aircraft to park on the other side of the terminal.

On 18 December 2018, Singapore Airlines upgraded their Singapore to Adelaide flight from the Airbus A330-300 to the new Airbus A350-900 fitted with their dual-class regional configuration.Fiji Airways also upgraded their new Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft on the Nadi to Adelaide route, but due to the grounding of the 737 MAX aircraft, switched to the Boeing 737-800. However, Fiji Airlines announced that they would no longer fly to Adelaide as of 20 July 2019.In late 2018 and Early 2019, China Southern, Cathay Pacific and Malaysian Airlines increased their services to Adelaide Airport to accommodate the increase of demand.The airport is also a heavy cargo destination for Volga-Dnepr Airlines, who require 2.5 km of runway for the Antonov cargo plane.

In July 2020, Emirates announced their suspension of services to Adelaide Airport due to low demand caused by COVID-19. Their Adelaide based staff have also been laid off. Emirates noted they wished to return their services to Adelaide Airport once travel demand has increased.