New Darlington International Airport



New Darlington International Airport (also known as Oxford Airport because of the location and also Shubham Naik Airport because he was the designer of the airport) is the gateway to New Darlington and the rest of the world, it is the busiest airport in New Brunton. Some areas of the airport was built on reclaimed land connecting to the mainland. New Darlington International Airport is located right near Port of New Darlington which is also within Woloko Bay. The airport is the main hub for 5 airlines including: New Brunton Airways, Japan Airlines, Tiger New Brunton, Jetstar Airways, China Eastern Airways and AirAsia.

Establishment
Before the opening of New Darlington International Airport, New Darlington's main airport was Asagaya Airport which was officially designated an international airport in 1950. In the mid 1950s, over 10,000 passengers were using Asagaya Airport and the limitations of Asagaya Airport were beginning to become apparent. Asagaya Airport's facilities were insufficient to meet the increasing demand for air travel; the runways were too short to handle the then new jet airliners and the terminals failed to handle the increase in passengers, by the mid 1950s, an international overflow terminal was built in a new northern hangar. Due to the encroachment of the urban boundary, the airport had become surrounded by residential housing, meaning that expansion of Asagaya Airport was not possible.

The search for a replacement for Asagaya Airport commenced in February 1958, when a panel was appointed to assess New Darlington's civil aviation needs.

5 years later in 1963 a site was found for a new airport, the area was quite distant from the suburbs but it was a good area, that area was at the west side of Woloko Bay. On that year the construction of a new airport had begun and the deadline for completion was 5 years.

The new airport had finished on 25 April 1969, 1 year late. The airport had been originally been named Shubham Naik Airport due to the fact that it was designed by Shubham Naik, however with the departure of Shubham Naik it was renamed to Oxford International Airport likely because of the suburb it was located in. In 1976 when Asagaya Airport was demolished Oxford International Airport was then finally renamed to New Darlington International Airport since it would serve the whole city.

Expansion
Following the demolition of Asagaya Airport, 4 years later a larger international terminal had been built with world class technology, luxurious shops and boutiques and lounges for some airlines. In 1990 the number of passengers coming in and out of New Darlington International Airport had increased a lot, due to this construction of the south building began and was built over a period of 10 years. Since the completion of the south building the airport has had a better passenger flow.

Terminals
New Darlington International Airport has 4 terminals: Freight Terminal, T1, T2 and T3/Budget. There were also plans to make a fifth terminal for Japan Airlines however New Brunton Pacific Airports Corporation Limited has decided to plan the fourth terminal to be dedicated for New Brunton Airways due to the amount of passengers using the airline rising every year. The Freight Terminal which is furthermost away from all other terminals has 4 dedicated parking positions for cargo planes.

Terminal 1
Terminal 1 handles most international flights for New Darlington International Airport, the terminal has a north and south building which are both connected together. The north building was opened in 1980 while the south building was opened in 2000 and consists of two levels, the lower level for arrivals and the upper level for departures. One of the concourses has been closed, plans are to turn the concourse into a food court. T1 is the only terminal that has to be accessed by underground routes. New Brunton Pacific Airports Corporation Limited is also currently planning to split the north and south buildings and making each of the buildings its own terminal, this will also include the relocation of some airlines into another gate.

Terminal 2
Terminal 2 which was previously the international terminal handles all domestic flights and some international flights from Japan Airlines, the terminal is the closest to parking facilities, hotels and has a railway station that connects to the city.

Terminal 3/Budget
Terminal 3 or Budget Terminal was the previous freight terminal, however now it handles budget airlines such as Tiger Airways, AirAsia and in July 2012 Jetstar New Brunton. T3 doesn't have accommodation for retail shops and some other facilities used in the usual terminals.

Terminal 4
The New Brunton Airways Terminal which is set to be completed by 2014.

Freight Terminal
The Freight Terminal has 4 dedicated parking positions for cargo planes, plans are that the parking positions will have an addition of 6 more making a total of 10 parking positions.

Cargo services
The following airlines operate scheduled cargo flights from New Darlington International Airport. All cargo services operate from the Freight Terminal.

Airbus A380
Construction works were undertaken to prepare the airport for the arrival of the double-decker Airbus A380. The A380 has been purchased by several airlines using the airport. The improvements included the construction of dual airbridges with the ability to board both decks simultaneously to reduce turnaround times, the widening of the North-South runway and remote stands and taxiways, the extension of the international terminal building by to include new penthouse airline lounges, and the construction of an additional baggage carousel in the arrivals hall. As a result the airport was the first in New Brunton to be capable of handling the A380.

Second airport proposals
Though the airport has been expanded many times it is still predicted that the capacity of New Darlington International Airport will be exceeded if a new airport will not be built. Many residents have also complained about the amount of aircraft movements around the area especially the aircraft engine noises. Expansions for this airport is no longer available due to the surrounding areas being near the coastlines and houses.

Transport
New Darlington International Airport is located 30 kilometres from the city centre. Since the opening of the international terminal more transport access has been provided with the increasing number of passengers.



Road
Oxford Freeway is a major freeway that begins in the city and ends at New Darlington International Airport.

Parking
New Darlington International Airport has 2 parking spaces, all operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is 1 multi-level undercover carpark and 1 open-air car park which is cheaper than the multi-level. Both of the carparks are used for short-term and long-term parking, passengers that present their New Brunton Airways boarding pass will get a 10% discount out of the total price.

Inter-terminal bus
There is an inter-terminal bus connecting the T1, T3 and T2. Services run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Inter-terminal rapid transit
The rapid transit is basically a tram network that is mostly underground and can reach speeds of up to 80km/h. The three stops are: T1 (underground), T2 (above ground) and Freight Terminal (underground). The rapid transit is free and services run from 7am-9pm every 5 minutes.

Rail
The airport provides 1 railway station located at T2 as part of the Airport Link that connects to New Darlington's Gold Bridge Station. The Airport Station is built as an underground terminus.

HSR
Plans to build a HSR connecting the airport to major cities have also been planned to be built by 2020.

Accidents and incidents

 * On 20 March 2005, Emirates Airline Flight 407, an Airbus A340-500, was taking off from New Darlington International Airport on the main runway for a flight to Dubai International Airport and failed to become airborne in the normal distance. When the aircraft was nearing the end of the runway, the crew commanded nose-up sharply, causing its tail to scrape along the runway as it became airborne, during which smoke was observed in the cabin. The crew dumped fuel and returned to the airport. The damage caused to the aircraft was considered substantial. The aircraft damaged a strobe light at the end of the runway as well as an antenna on the localiser, which led to the ILS being out of service for some time causing some disruptions to the airport's operation.
 * March 12, 2008: Garuda Indonesia serving the New Darlington-Jakarta route had a minor engine problem. Ten passengers were injured after jumping out of the plane assuming that it was having engine trouble.
 * On July 15, 2011, a Singapore Airlines A330 aircraft was preparing to take off when a taxiing Antonov-124 aircraft accidentally crossed its path, separated by only 1,100 meters. Investigators believe that the Antonov-124 pilots experienced a miscommunication with air traffic controllers.
 * On January 25 2012, New Darlington International Airport’s main runway was closed 5 hours, after a light cargo plane made a "wheels up" landing at 7am.