Bairnsdale Airport

Bairnsdale Aerodrome
IATA: BSJ ICAO: YBNS
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	East Gippsland Shire Council
Location	Bairnsdale, Victoria
Opened	c. 1939 – RAAF Station Bairnsdale[1][2][3] c. 1954 – Civil Airport
Elevation AMSL	165 ft / 50 m
Coordinates	37°53′15″S 147°34′04″E
Website	www.eastgippsland.vic.gov.au/Services/Aerodromes/Bairnsdale_Aerodrome_Pilot_Information
Map
YBNS Location in Victoria
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 04/22 1,101 3,612 Asphalt 13/31 850 2,789 Asphalt
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[4]

Bairnsdale Airport (IATA: BSJ, ICAO: YBNS) is located 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) south west[4] of Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia, off the Princes Highway.

History

It was originally RAAF Station Bairnsdale, which was a training establishment formed during World War II. No. 1 Operational Training Unit (1OTU) and the General Reconnaissance School (GRS) were based there during the war years.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Operations

The Airport, despite not having passenger service, is used regularly. It is heavily used by Air Ambulance for transporting patients. It also has small fleet maintenance facilities, and is a popular destination for numerous charter flights.[11]

There have been proposals for regional passenger service to return to Bairnsdale to boost tourism in the East Gippsland Region, with flights to Melbourne, and possibly Albury and Sydney. However, these proposals have never became reality.[12]

See also

• List of airports in Victoria

References

1. "AERODROMES: To Be Built at Bairnsdale and Mallacoota". Gippsland Times. No. 11, 049. Victoria, Australia. 5 June 1939. p. 4. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "AERODROME FOR BAIRNSDALE". Gippsland Times. No. 11, 061. Victoria, Australia. 17 July 1939. p. 4. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Oil Supply Removed From Aerodrome". The Age. No. 26, 580. Victoria, Australia. 25 June 1940. p. 10. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia. ,...BAIRNSDALE. Monday. – When three planes arrived at the aerodrome to be refuelled...
4. YBNS – Bairnsdale (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 13 June 2024, Aeronautical Chart Archived 11 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
5. Group portrait of No 9 Staff Navigator's Course, General Reconnaissance School, RAAF Station Bairnsdale, Victoria. Identified in the back row from left to right: 420739 Flying Officer (FO) William, retrieved 3 June 2019
6. "Easter Regattas". Sporting Globe. No. 2273. Victoria, Australia. 5 April 1944. p. 15 (Edition2). Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "Decorated at the Double". Smith's Weekly. Vol. XXVIII, no. 8. New South Wales, Australia. 20 April 1946. p. 19. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "DEFENCE PLANS". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LX, no. 292. Queensland, Australia. 8 December 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia. ,...The construction of aerodromes at...Bairnsdale...(Victoria) is part of the Government's plan to develop a chain of landing grounds around the coast for the use of reconnaissance and bombing machines in the event of war...
9. "PROPOSAL FOR AERODROME AT BAIRNSDALE". Gippsland Times. No. 9913. Victoria, Australia. 17 October 1932. p. 1. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "AERODROME SIT AT BAIRNSDALE.: Help Sought from Civil Aviation Department". Gippsland Times. No. 10, 225. Victoria, Australia. 11 November 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "Bairnsdale Airport". eastgippsland.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
12. Hore, Monique (4 November 2019). "Passenger flights to Bairnsdale Airport floated in bid to boost tourism to regional Victoria". Herald SUn.