RAAF Curtin

RAAF Curtin
Curtin Airport
IATA: DCN – ICAO: YCIN
Summary
Airport type Military/Public
Operator DoD / Shire of Derby/West Kimberley
Location Derby, Western Australia
Elevation AMSL 300 ft / 91 m
Coordinates 17°34′53″S 123°49′42″E / 17.58139°S 123.82833°E / -17.58139; 123.82833Coordinates: 17°34′53″S 123°49′42″E / 17.58139°S 123.82833°E / -17.58139; 123.82833
Map
YCIN

Location in Western Australia

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
11/29 3,049 10,003 Asphalt
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[1]

RAAF Base Curtin (IATA: DCN, ICAO: YCIN) is a joint use Royal Australian Air Force base and civil airport located 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi) southeast[1] of the town of Derby on the north coast of Western Australia. As it is one of the RAAF's three 'bare bases' no Air Force units are permanently based at Curtin and it is maintained by a small caretaker staff during peacetime. The base is named in honour of former Prime Minister John Curtin.

RAAF Curtin was the first new major military airfield to be built in Australia since World War II. Construction on the base began in 1983 and it was opened on 11 June 1988.[2] The base was activated twice by the RAAF between 1988 and 2013.[2] It was activated again in 2016 as part of Exercise Northern Shield.[3]

From the late 1990s the base operated as Curtin Immigration Reception and Processing Centre, a Commonwealth of Australia immigration detention centre, which closed in September 2002.[4] However the centre was reopened in April 2010 to house around 60 Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers whose applications were suspended.[5]

Since 2007, direct flights have recommenced between Perth and Derby (RAAF Curtin) for the first time since Ansett stopped the service in 1992. These flights will cease at the end of February 2016.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 YCIN – Curtin (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 10 November 2016, Aeronautical Chart
  2. 1 2 Biggs, Gavin (18 July 2013). "RAAF Curtin Marks 25 Years". Air Force. p. 15. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Donnelly, Shaun (22 September 2016). "Curtin Lifted Thanks to 'Outstanding' Work". Air Force. Department of Defence. p. 12. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "Curtin centre closes". ABC. The World Today. 24 September 2002. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  5. ↑ Curtin Air Base re-opened to hold asylum seekers, The Age, 18 April 2010.


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