Port Lincoln Airport - New Arrivals Approach to Runway 01

Statement of Need

In line with procedures at other major Australian regional airports, Airservices Australia will be introducing a new Required Navigation Performance (RNP) straight-in approach to Runway 01 at Port Lincoln Airport to increase safety for aircraft landing in poor weather when wind conditions at the airport favour landings from the south. RNP is a type of navigation that allows aircraft to operate along a precise flight path with a high level of accuracy. Currently:

• the only straight-in approach is to Runway 19, and so can only be used when there is a southerly wind (as aircraft take off and land into the wind)

• In poor weather and when Runway 01 must be used, aircraft circle around the airport until they are lined up to land from the south. Aircraft arriving from Adelaide in poor weather have reported instances of not being able to land via the circling approach and had to return passengers to Adelaide.

The main runway at Port Lincoln Airport is known as Runway 01 when used by aircraft travelling from south to north, and is known as Runway 19 when used by aircraft travelling from north to south. The new approach procedure will ensure that a straight-in instrument approach (predetermined landing approach) is available to both ends of the runway.

The new flight paths are generally expected to be used on existing Adelaide arrival routes as well as by the Royal Flying Doctor Service when weather conditions are poor or at night. As of April 2024, there are between 9 to 11 passenger flights daily between Port Lincoln and Adelaide arriving between 8.30am to 8pm into Port Lincoln, with fewer flights on Saturdays. This path may also be used by other chartered flights. Runway usage is assumed to be an approximate 60:40 ratio between the two runway ends with 60% of arrivals to Runway 19 (arriving from the north) compared to 40% of arrivals from the south to Runway 01 based on historical wind data from Bureau of Meteorology. The arrivals into Port Lincoln for 2022 and 2023 are shown below.

No additional flights are being introduced as part of the new approach, and it is not associated with flight training in the region. For further information, please see our factsheet. To search your address relative to the flight path, please click on the scalable map below.