Proserpine/Whitsunday Coast Airport is located approximately south of Proserpine in Queensland, Australia. The airport is the main gateway for travellers to and from the Whitsunday area and currently only has flights to the state capital Brisbane but from April will have flights to the largest city in the country Sydney.HistoryPlans to build an airfield in Proserpine commenced in 1936, however construction was delayed due to a lack of funding. Construction of the airport finally began in 1946.The first passenger service to Proserpine was on 3 November 1951. It was a flight from Brisbane in a Douglas DC-3.In September 2001, the airport suffered heavily from the collapse of Ansett Australia, who at the time were the biggest operators out of Proserpine with direct services to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The company even operated seasonal flights to the Gold Coast and Adelaide.In January 2014, Whitsunday Regional Council announced it was to discuss with the Queensland state government the process for designating the airport precinct a PDA (Priority Development Area). This would make the future process of extending the runway the relatively short distance required to receive international services and to alleviate the industrial land crisis that has been affecting the Whitsunday Region for many years.Whitsunday Coast Airport upgradeRecently the Passenger Terminal underwent an upgrade. Earthworks commenced in mid-October 2010 and demolition works in November 2010. The upgraded terminal was officially opened on 20 December 2011.
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