Cocos (Keeling) Islands Airport is an airport serving the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean. The airport is on West Island, one of the South Keeling Islands and capital of the territory.

History

The airfield was built during World War II to support Allied aircraft in the war against Japan. Two airstrips were built, and three bomber squadrons were moved to the islands to conduct raids against Japanese targets in Southeast Asia and to provide support during the planned re-invasion of Malaya and reconquest of Singapore. The first aircraft to arrive were Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIIIs of No. 136 Squadron RAF. They included some B-24 Liberator bombers from No. 321 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF (members of exiled Dutch forces serving with the Royal Air Force), which were also stationed on the islands. South African Airways aircraft operated between Johannesburg and Perth refuelled at this airport en-route before 1970. The 2016 Australian Defence White Paper stated that the airfield would be upgraded to support the RAAF's P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. Work was scheduled to begin in early 2023 and completed by 2026, though the costs of the upgrade had increased significantly. It is planned that the airfield will act as a forward operating base for Australian surveillance and electronic warfare aircraft in the region.

Facilities

The airport has one runway, designated 15/33, with an asphalt surface measuring 2441 x and an elevation of 10 ft above sea level.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Cocos Island Airport served 14,896 revenue passengers during financial year 2017–2018.

Footnotes