Three general aviation airports have been recognised for excellence in the 2016 National Airport Industry Awards presented in Canberra this week.
Albury, Hamilton and Launceston all won their respective categories for Airport of the Year, presented by the Australian Airports Association (AAA) in front of 500 industry leaders at a gala dinner at Parliament House.
- Albury – Large Regional Airport of the Year
- Hamilton – Small Regional Aerodrome of the Year
- Launceston – Major Airport of the Year
Karratha also won an award for infrastructure innovation and excellence for their new terminal, and Whitsunday Airport was recognised for innovation and excellence in operations for their wireless ground lighting activation system.
Albury's award was for the Aviation Strategy and Marketing Plan that has seen passenger numbers increase by 5.5% and the addition of a fourth airline, JetGo, which commenced services to Brisbane in June 2016.
Hamilton and Southern Grampians Shire Council won Small Regional Aerodrome of the Year after completing a $5.2 million upgrade which included strengthening and resealing movement areas, a new lighting system and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI).
Launceston's new terminal upgrade with new passenger faciltiies won it Major Airport of the Year, and they also won an innovation and excellence award in the commercial category for the new passenger retail precinct.
For the record, Perth won Capital City Airport of the Year.
The full list of all award is on the AAA website.