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year of operation it handled six airlines and 155,275 international passengers. Since then it’s seen exceptional growth in flight and passenger numbers, making it the second-busiest airport in the country. Business Traveller magazine and Airports Council International have ranked Melbourne in the top 10 every year from 1996 to 2000 and in the top five for airports that handle between 15 and 25 million passengers annually. And let’s not forget the people who work at Melbourne Airport; the flight services people, the ground crew, airport security and their forensic basset hounds and the cleaners, who must know when I’m coming so that the toilets are inevitably closed for a service when I land. All of these people accommodate the heroics as well as the inevitable low-bred behaviour of passengers on a daily basis. They are the bone fide stars of this Airport Opera and deserve our thundering applause. Bravo (Oscar) ... bravo (Romeo) ... bravo (Charlie). \ boomboom@rachelberger.com we welcome your feedback »
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Essendon Airport \ Thank you, Paul Lucas, for emailing memories of Essendon Airport as “a little kid”. Before Melbourne Airport, our main airport was Essendon. It was the busiest radio-equipped aerodrome in Australia in the 1940s, with 120 landings and take-offs each day. Designated an international airport in 1950, by the mid-’50s its facilities couldn’t meet the increasing demand for air travel, the runways were too short for the new jet airliners and it was surrounded by residential housing, which meant expansion wasn’t possible. As Lucas says: “It’s a bit quieter now, but if you do stand in the terminal you can still imagine the Beatles arriving in 1964 and the roar of 5000 screaming fans.” \ Moorabbin Airport \ A while back I had a couple of flying lessons at Moorabbin Airport and, regrettably, I doubt I’d be allowed back on the tarmac. My call sign was Oscar Romeo Charlie; I was so over-excited I repeated the words Oscar Romeo Charlie so often that finally an exasperated voice from the tower requested I stop talking. Moorabbin Airport is the major centre in Victoria for training, charter and private flying and is the home of the Australian National Aviation Museum. This community-based, not-for-profit company is owned and operated by the Australian Aircraft Restoration Group, whose volunteers have saved several significant examples of Australia’s aviation heritage. \ Avalon Airport \ When Linfox purchased Avalon Airport from the Commonwealth in 1997, it was employing only 150 people on a fulltime basis. Today about 1000 people are employed full-time at Avalon, with many more in associated support industries. In little more than a decade, Avalon Airport has not only turned itself around to be a major player in the Geelong-Melbourne area, but in October this year, after many years of Linfox’s attempts to make it happen, the federal government finally announced the selection of Avalon as the second Melbourne international airport. Not bad for a site purchased in 1952 to enable the construction and testing of the Canberra jet bomber. \
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december 12, 2012 \ The weekly review 35