Adelaide Airport - a model of efficiency

[Jon B]

Hi all,

a few weeks back on a friday arfternoon i was departing Adealide for Melbourne and noticed that my flight had already left. Photos are not great - from the phone but it had most people confused:

Time is 14:03
Virgin Flight to melb is due to depart at 15:05
Flight is showing as departed!

I always thought they were a bit behind in Adelaide but this proves that theory wrong!

[Andi O]

Pretty sure they are still behind over there. Reckon it must have been yesterdays flight :-P

[John Arena]

I think the whole display is for Yesterday

John

[JoshuaD]

I think ADL has one of the nicest terminals in OZ :)

[Stefan Perkas]

Jon B,

It must of been a glitch in the system, it happens everywhere. I bet it happens at most airports, but nobody reports. But because it has happened in Adelaide and we are classified as backwards it had to be reported.

As long as you got your flight that is all that matters. if passengers were confused all they had to od was to go to the gate and ask one of the ate staff what was going on.

Granted, Adelaide is backwards in some areas. But our airport is one of the best in the country (not for movemnts though).

[Ryan Hothersall]

Sure we don't have the number of movements like Sydney or Melbourne, but we do get our fair share of interesting movements.

[Nathan M]

By interesting movements you mean an EK 77W diversion once in a blue moon!

[Justin L]

FWIW, the T2 departure boards at YSSY above the food court have been similarly consistently incorrect many times I have used that terminal over the years - particularly with updated data.

[Stefan Perkas]

By interesting movements you mean an EK 77W diversion once in a blue moon!

We have had our fair share of movements the past couple of year, which infact have made a few spotters in other states jealous.

They include: 2 xIL96 freighters and the Qatar C17.

We get our fair shar of bizjets, mostly american but we do get the odd one from time to time.

Yes we do get diversions, we have had some good diversions this year.

Don't just assume Adelaide gets nothing special . You would be suprised how much we do get over the course of the year. Even the stuff that lives here is pretty good as well. Alliance F50's , a heap of BAE146's and RJ100's.

If you don't like us, don't come here. We do not need people like you who constantly have a go at Adelaide airport and the lack of stuff it gets.

[StevenW]

Feel free to have a go at the average design of the terminal, though. What were they thinking with the car park? It's finally being fixed, but wow... what an abomination.

The positioning of travelators inside the terminal is also kinda weird.

[Justin L]

Remember that the ADL terminal was designed for expansion and it met its growth targets well ahead of time. Whether that is poor planning or a credit to its success is obviously debatable. So the car park outgrew itself early and the travelator positioning, while I agree is strange now, may make more sense when they extend out one day and there are more gates further down.

[Shayne G]

We have had our fair share of movements the past couple of year, which infact have made a few spotters in other states jealous.

They include: 2 xIL96 freighters and the Qatar C17.



The KLM Cargo 747-400F was a ripper too last year. Others I can remember like MK airlines 742F, a few Kalitta Air 742's over the years and a beautiful blue AN-12 certainly make me jealous! :D

For movements I agree you's get some very good metal, diversions too lead to some good aircraft coming in.

[Dave Powell]

We have had our fair share of movements the past couple of year, which infact have made a few spotters in other states jealous.

They include: 2 xIL96 freighters and the Qatar C17.

We get our fair shar of bizjets, mostly american but we do get the odd one from time to time.

Yes we do get diversions, we have had some good diversions this year.

Don't just assume Adelaide gets nothing special . You would be suprised how much we do get over the course of the year. Even the stuff that lives here is pretty good as well. Alliance F50's , a heap of BAE146's and RJ100's.

If you don't like us, don't come here. We do not need people like you who constantly have a go at Adelaide airport and the lack of stuff it gets.

Wouldn't have bothered responding to that jibe Stefan :D

I have always found Adelaide a nice airport to pass through - never had any issues. And as far as movements are concerned, no matter where your local airport happens to be there is always somewhere else that gets something better!!!.

Now my local airport is YWVA - and an exciting movement there is a new Jabiru in the circuit once or twice a year :D:D

[Jaryd stock]

As long as it's still got the Cooper's shop there and stocking vintage range then ADL is alright by me....

[Stefan Perkas]

Don't worry Jaryd it is still there. Shayne, I just posted those 2 becuase they were the 1st ones that came to mind. You are right, we have had some good stuff over the years and expecially the past couple of years I saw all of your list except for the MK Airlines as I was in Melbourne at the time.

The orginal plans were to do the carpaprk and the terminal all in one hit. Once September 11 occured and travel declined the airport just focused on getting the terminal up and going as some airlines were getting very angry with the old terminal and the delays on the progreesion of the new one.


But as Justin said, the terminal has exceed its growth target, and it is continuing to grow.

Now it is slowly expanding, the car park is being built at a rapid pace each week when I go to the airport it seems to get closer to the terminal. The tower is also erectred. The outdside is complete, all that is being donw on the inside is the electrical side of things.

As for the terminal, once the carpark is completed, the expanison of the terminal will commnce with gates being added to the Virgin end of the terminal.

After that, it will expand more down the QF end.

I find the terminal a success, there are a couple of mishaps and poor planning, but that is at most airports there are parts which aren't perfect. Nobody is perfect. If you don't like travelators and where they are positioned. don't travel on them, It is simple as that. But I wouldn't call the airport an abomination.

As I said before, if you don't like Adelaide don't come here.

[Jaryd stock]

Hear hear Stefan, I was pleasantly surprised when I got there I reckon it's a great terminal, and areas for spotting although I haven't stoped at them, having seen them I reckon there good too. All the people raging on the airport wouldn't be doing so if they were there for those rare movements, no where else in Oz got that Qatar C-17 come in....

[Jaryd stock]

And on a side point isn't Adelaide airport or whoever own it, spotter friendly as well ?which would be the only Australian airport to do so. And don't they have a program for us guy's or Adelaide spotters to sign up to and not get hassled by security, as well as other benifiets....?

[StevenW]

Remember that the ADL terminal was designed for expansion and it met its growth targets well ahead of time. Whether that is poor planning or a credit to its success is obviously debatable. So the car park outgrew itself early and the travelator positioning, while I agree is strange now, may make more sense when they extend out one day and there are more gates further down.

The main issue I had with the car park wasn't so much the car park, but pedestrian access. It was woeful - the main walkway was interrupted every few paces by a tree in a planter bed, which took up half the width of the path. The halved walk way wasn't wide enough for two people to pass in opposite directions without getting fairly close - imagine the problems caused when one encountered a wheelchair or a bag trolley or even someone wheeling two suitcases. Someone had to wait for the other to pass. I lost track of the number of times I saw cars get whacked by trolleys due to the congestion caused by the stupid tree beds, too.

Crazy.

It's not difficult to design a path - I'm amazed that it was done so poorly.

The rest of the place is pretty good, though, but a couple more travelators per wing would go a long way towards suggesting that they are supposed to be used, rather than just placed as an afterthought.

[Maikha Ly]

I went to Adelaide last year, found it a pleasant airport, and additionally a pleasant city. May even be moving there next year for work.

However, I agree Adelaide is abit behind...... about half an hour's worth in time :)

[Grant Smith]

For all it's flaws and failures ADL is still quite a functionable airport...

Sure, Customs and Quarantine at times are an utter joke and domestically speaking those folks who are employed as security, seemingly target me constantly for explosive tests despite the 'randomness' of it all, I'd much rather depart internationally via ADL than BNE...

Cheapest cab fare from the CBD to the Airport and no stupid variation of fares... Sure there's limited alternatives but even compared to those offered in other capital cities are marginal...

Stefan - seriously, stop being so 'house proud', we all know (or should) that Adelaide wasn't founded with convict labor and South Australians are all very protective of that but to carry on with "if you don't like it, we don't want you" attitude really doesn't help your cause...

Not very many airports where you can grab a schooner (or pint for you South Australian backwards folk) of Vintage ale on tap before a flight - so chill out and have one or five...

[Jon B]

Hello Stefan and fellow citizens of the fine City of Adelaide. My posting was in jest - no offence intended! I found the departures board display amusing as it was my flight and when i was walking into the lounge i commented so on it to the staff to who were also aware of it did say they had a few concerned passengers querying the board. It is of course not hard to determine it is an error as it is not only obvious a flight would not leave that early but also the inbound aircraft on that gate had yet to arrive. Anyway the flight left on time with me on it and i only posted it as i thought it mildly amusing.
I shall return to Adelaide in 2 weeks if i can get Visa!:D

PS - I like the airport and the big windows, however those aerobridges get pretty hot on sunny day

[Zac S]

From my single trip to Adelaide, I thought that it was a relatively good airport, not rundown in anyway, albeit it is rather new. The overall layout of the airport, is open and light, a vast improvement compared to other terminals in Australia, such as the Virgin Terminal in Sydney, and the Eastern wing on the terminal

Overall, good experience, happily go back to the city again,

[Ian Garton]

I always find Adelaide airport very comfortable to travel through.
If anyone doesn't, cast your minds back to the previous terminal!!

The signs in the toilets are a worry though ...
http://balus.info/ADL_Toilet.jpg

[Jarden S]

Growth prospects will be good for ADL as with a predicted boom in FIFO flights especially to Olympic Dam with its $30 billion expansion soon to start. That route one day will be like Perth to Karatha is now. I won't be suprised if Virgin will enter the route and Qantas with their own metal.