Moorabbin Airport is a general aviation

General aviation

General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

 airport for light aircraft located in Mentone, Victoria

Mentone, Victoria

Mentone is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston...

, Australia. The airport grounds are treated as their own suburb, designated the postcode

Postal code

A postal code is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. Once postal codes were introduced, other applications became possible.In February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal Union had postal code systems...

 3194. The airport opened in December 1949. Originally the intent was to name the airport "Mentone" but this was abandoned after a potential clash with the then French airport Menton. Similarly, Cheltenham was discarded due to similarities to the UK airport Gloucester/Cheltenham. The name comes from the nearby Moorabbin, Victoria

Moorabbin, Victoria

Moorabbin is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston. At the 2006 Census, Moorabbin had a population of 5,170....

. Moorabbin Airport is the third busiest airport in Australia by aircraft movements.

Overview

Moorabbin Airport has 5 intersecting runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

s, an air museum, helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 terminals, a control tower and several flight training

Flight training

Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills....

 facilities. Moorabbin Airport serves the general aviation needs for the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Getting there

The nearest train station is Cheltenham, approx 3 km (1.9 mi) from the airport.

Bus services run along Centre Dandenong Rd at the northern boundary connecting to a number of rail stations including Hampton, Highett and Dandenong. Nearest freeway is Eastlink approx 6 km (3.7 mi) to the east.

Master plan

The Master Plan for Moorabbin Airport was approved by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese MP, on 25 June 2010. The Master Plan provides a twenty year horizon detailing the development of the airport and associated infrastructure. It will be published on the airport website.

See also

• List of Australian airports
• Transportation in Australia
• Royal Victorian Aero Club
  Royal Victorian Aero Club
  The Royal Victorian Aero Club is an Australian aero club based at Moorabbin Airport in Melbourne. Originating in 1914 it is amongst the world's oldest Aviation organisations...