iscover
In an update on Tuesday morning, the airport confirmed its runway is “clear and serviceable” following the severe flooding in the wake of Cyclone Jasper that left aircraft partially underwater and forced the aerodrome to close for the second time in four days.
Images on social media have shown planes underwater at the airport, while holidaymakers have been left stranded at destinations such as Osaka as flights have been unable to take off for Cairns. The airport on Sunday was hit with 309mm of rain in 24 hours, with floods surpassing 1977 levels.
The 70,000m2 structure, built on the site of the international terminal’s old main carpark, includes new pick-up/drop-off areas, undercover parking, public transport links, and new road layouts, and is designed for 650 vehicles per hour at peak times.
The last scheduled flight, Virgin Australia flight VA1298 to Melbourne, is scheduled for 7:45pm on Tuesday, after which the airport will shut down ahead of Jasper’s anticipated landfall on Wednesday. CEO Richard Baker has warned that the airport will not be available until at least Thursday.
More than 1.31 million international seats will be available to and from Melbourne this month, which represents 101 per cent of the 1.29 million seats available in December 2019. The news comes as Aircalin resumes services between Melbourne and New Caledonia after more than three years.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, with the BoM predicting it to hit between Cape Flattery and Cardwell. Damaging winds are expected in the Cairns region starting on Tuesday, potentially extending as far as Townsville or Cape Melville.
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