A decision to build the Broome heliport has been critical to the future of BIA and the community. The heliport is the biggest and arguably the best equipped in the Southern Hemisphere, taking oil and gas rig crews to operations in the Browse Basin offshore from the Kimberley coast. The Heliport is currently transporting up to 45,000 passengers year to work on oil and gas production facilities hundreds of kilometres from the coast.
These helicopters play a vital role in the energy industries tapping some of the world’s most remote and inaccessible oilfields where the world’s first floating production storage and offtake vessels are producing oil and gas for global markets. .
The heliport provides a base for a fleet of commercial helicopters carrying an average of 15 passengers at a time. It includes a complete suite of maintenance, administration and passenger service facilities. The heliport is a stand-alone facility with its own road access, parking areas, landscaping and utilities. The complex has four well-equipped hangars.
DJARINDJIN COMMUNITY AIRPORT
In 2010 Broome International Airport (BIA) invested in Djarindjin Community Airport to extend the reach of the company’s airport service. The project was a joint venture with Djarindjin Aboriginal Community (DAC), located near the tip of Dampier Peninsula 170 kilometres north of Broome. The facility is ideally placed to serve as a refuelling and staging operating on the Kimberley coast near the Browse Basin oil and gas fields.
BIA provided a $6million interest-free loan to DAC in order to fund upgrades to their airport and supporting infrastructure, making a big impact to the Djarindjin and surrounding communities. In 2018 this loan was paid off, however the partnership continued with BIA continuing to assist DAC with the running of the Airport.
As part of its agreement with the Djarindjin community, BIA trained local indigenous staff to provide support services for helicopters and twin-engine turbo prop passenger aircraft. This includes support for the Royal Flying Doctor Service which uses Djarindjin as its main Dampier Peninsula Patient Transfer Station.
On 1 February 2022, DAC took full control of the airport with all management and operations to be performed by DAC. While the partnership has come to an end, BIA is immensely proud to have been a part of this success story.
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