Port Hedland International Airport (IATA: PHE, ICAO: YPPD) is an international airport serving Port Hedland, Western Australia. The airport is 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) south-east[1] of Port Hedland and 11 km (6.8 mi) from South Hedland. It is an important airport for passengers who work in the mining industry.
In December 1999, construction of a new terminal began.[2]
The airport has undergone a number of upgrades. Stage one of works include the extension of an existing taxiway and installation of new lighting, the construction of a new taxiway, widening of taxiway intersections and the extension of the domestic and international arrivals and departures area. This was to be completed by the end of July 2011.[3] A further upgrade occurred in 2013.[4]
Between 2008 and 2014, passenger movements more than doubled as a result of increased fly-in fly-out activity to the Pilbara during the mining boom. In August 2010, Qantas began operating weekly services from Brisbane and Melbourne with Airbus A320s.[5]
Virgin Australia Regional Airlines previously operated flights to Denpasar which were suspended in 2014, the Denpasar flight resumed on 4 April 2015 and was operated by Virgin Australia.[6] This flight was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic however as of 2023 the town council was advocating for this route to be reinstated.[7]
In July 2015, the Town of Port Hedland agreed to lease the airport to AMP Capital (since acquired by Dexus) and Infrastructure Capital Group for 50 years.[8][9][10]
In 2023, a redevelopment of the terminal was completed.[11][12][13]
Port Hedland International Airport was ranked 21st in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2022/23 and is third busiest airport in Western Australia.[15][16]
| Year[15] | Revenue passengers | Aircraft movements |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | ||
| 2002–03 | ||
| 2003–04 | ||
| 2004–05 | ||
| 2005–06 | ||
| 2006–07 | ||
| 2007–08 | ||
| 2008–09 | ||
| 2009–10 | ||
| 2010–11 | ||
| 2011–12 | ||
| 2012–13 | ||
| 2013–14 | ||
| 2014–15 | ||
| 2015–16 | ||
| 2016–17 | ||
| 2017–18 | ||
| 2018–19 | ||
| 2019–20 | ||
| 2020–21 | ||
| 2021–22 | ||
| 2022–23 | ||
| 2023–24 |
| Rank | Airport | Passengers movements | change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perth Airport | 475,876 |  16.6%*
|
The Perth-Port Hedland city-pair was the 30th busiest air route in Australia in Financial Year 2022-23.[18]
