COME FLY WITH ME

A series of new pedestrian walkways at Adelaide Airport form an important part of a $1 billion upgrade to what is currently the fastest growing capital city airport in Australia.

In preparation for an important year for Adelaide’s tourism and travel sector, Adelaide Airport has been undergoing a major infrastructure upgrade. With the approval of a $1 billion investment from the Federal Government, Adelaide Airport will receive a major terminal expansion, a 250-room hotel and an office complex by 2020.

In 2016, Adelaide Airport experienced its busiest summer and winter flight schedules, enhanced by a new route into the Middle East from Qatar Airways together with a new China Southern link to Guangzhou in China. This enhanced connectivity is expected to generate an extra $41 million into South Australia’s visitor economy and make Adelaide Airport one of the busiest in the country. Currently Australia’s fastest growing capital city airport, it handles approximately eight million passengers annually.

In 2019, Adelaide Airport will become the landing point for centenary celebrations of the first flight from England to Australia in 1919 and will also host the international World Routes conference. World Routes brings together over 3000 delegates from airlines, airports and tourism authorities from all over the world. It is the largest conference and meeting forum in the aviation industry. World Routes will support South Australia's aim to achieve an $8 billion tourism industry by 2020 through the growth of the city’s air services.

In preparation for these events, Adelaide Airport has received more than $500 million in infrastructure upgrades since 2015. Key among them is the installation of a series of cantilevered covered walkways with perforated picture mesh barriers by Stoddart Infrastructure.

As part of the airport’s upgrade, Stoddart Infrastructure was commissioned to design, fabricate and install new pedestrian walkways around the airport terminals to provide sheltered access for patrons. Stoddart also completed the civil and electrical design as part of the scope of works, and project managed every stage of the job including civil works, shelter installation, and project handover.

In 1919, the Commonwealth Government of Australia offered a prize of £A10,000 for the first flight from Great Britain to Australia, under specific conditions: valid aircrews must all be Australian nationals; the aircraft must have been constructed in the UK; and the journey must be completed within 720 consecutive hours (30 days) before midnight on 31 December 1920.

In commemoration of this event, a number of celebrations will take place at Adelaide Airport in and around the Vickers Vimy memorial building. It is in this area of the airport that Stoddart commenced a two-stage project, producing two cantilevered walkways that facilitate patron transfer between the longterm carpark and terminal building.

Based on Stoddart’s Decco walkway design, which is characterised by its large-span, curved cantilevered roof and modular design, the Adelaide Airport walkways were customised to site specifications. To suit the project, the frames of the structures were altered to provide a more individual aesthetic and full-length guttering was added. Perforated picture mesh panels with a travel-themed motif were placed between the posts to provide protection and offer visual interest beneath the canopies.

Fully designed and engineered to suit their location, the airport walkways were constructed from mild steel, then hot-dip galvanised before receiving a powdercoat finish. In order for the walkways to function effectively at night, patron-focused LED courtesy lighting was also added to the walkways.

The durable and practical nature of the walkways, together with the clean and classic design of the paneling creates a functional feature within the airport that is unmissable and pleasing to the eye, adding an extra element to the terminals that will be admired by the thousands of additional airport visitors expected in 2019.

CONTACT

Stoddart

P  1300 557 654
E  info@stoddartinfrastructure.com.au  
W  www.stoddartinfrastructure.com.au

PROJECT PARTICULARS

Client | Adelaide Airport
Project Completed | October 2016
Design, Manufacture & Install | Stoddart Infrastructure
Design Consultant | Aplin Cook Gardner Design