The airstrip at Albion Park that eventually became Wollongong Airport was built in 1942 by the Civil Construction Corps as a wartime emergency strip for the training of RAAF pilots. Airline services from Wollongong Airport have been started on many occasions over the decades, but have struggled to achieve sustainability. Over the years many airline names have come and gone — each chapter adding to the Illawarra’s long aviation story.
Today
Current flights
Direct services to Melbourne and Brisbane, four times weekly.
View flights →About
About the airport
The Illawarra’s gateway to the world — key facts and mission.
About WOL →At the airport
HARS Aviation Museum
Australia’s most spectacular aviation collection — right here at WOL.
Explore HARS →1942
Albion Park Airstrip opens
Wartime emergency strip — Albion Park Rail
Built by the Civil Construction Corps as a wartime emergency strip for the training of RAAF pilots. In 1946, Wollongong & South Coast Aviation Service Pty Ltd was founded by pioneering Illawarra aviator Walter E. James. After the war, Trans Australia Airlines and Australian National Airways linked the airport with Canberra and Melbourne until 1950.
1952
South Coast Airways
Sydney · Wollongong · Bairnsdale · Sale · Melbourne
South Coast Airways operated a milk run between Sydney and Melbourne with intermediate stops in Wollongong, Bairnsdale and Sale — connecting the Illawarra to both capital cities.
1970s – 1980s
Southbank Aviation
Wollongong · Newcastle · Canberra
During the 1970s, Southbank Aviation introduced commuter services from Albion Park to Newcastle and Canberra, using a Cessna 320 Skynight.
1990s
Flight Facilities Airline
Wollongong · Canberra
Flight Facilities continued regional connections through the 1990s, maintaining Wollongong’s link to the national capital.
1998 – 2000
Impulse Airlines
Wollongong · Melbourne · Newcastle
Impulse operated Beechcraft 1900D services to Melbourne and Newcastle, bringing jet-commuter style frequency to the Illawarra for the first time.
The story continues
The Illawarra’s aviation story is still being written.
Direct flights to Melbourne and Brisbane operate today — and the airport continues to grow as the Illawarra’s gateway to the world.
2005 – 2008
QantasLink
Wollongong · Melbourne
QantasLink brought Dash 8-100 services to Melbourne, the most significant airline operation the airport had seen. When QantasLink withdrew in 2008, the airport was left without any regular airline service for nearly ten years.
2008 – 2017
No regular airline services
Nine years without scheduled RPT flights
During this period the development of the HARS Museum and facilities dominated activity at the airport — including the arrival of the museum’s centrepiece, a Qantas 747, which now dominates the terminal area.
October 2017 – May 2018
Jetgo
Wollongong · Melbourne · Brisbane
The launch of Jetgo services to Melbourne and Brisbane in October 2017 were hoped to be game changers. Using the most modern regional jets — ERJ135 and ERJ145 — this venture operated at a level previously unseen at Wollongong. Jetgo’s corporate collapse in May 2018 put an end to jet operations after only eight months.
Today
Link Airways — from November 2018
In September 2018, Canberra-based regional airline Fly Corporate (now operating as Link Airways) stepped into the routes vacated by Jetgo. Services commenced 12 November 2018 using 34-seat SAAB 340B aircraft.
Five months after re-launching, the airline increased frequencies citing strong customer support. Today, direct services to Melbourne and Brisbane operate four times weekly — Mon, Wed, Fri and Sun.
Book a flight today →