History of Airport
Find our more about the RAAF Museum at Mildura Airport
Mildura Airport History
The Mildura Airport was established on the current site in 1942 as a training centre for the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. As the base of the No. 2 Operational Training Unit, the airport was the largest training facility in Australia for fighter pilots. The No. 2 OTU turned out over 1,200 pilots over the period from 1942 to 1948. This chapter in the history of the airport has been recognised in the development of an Air Force Museum at the Airport, situated in one of the last remaining World War II era buildings on the site.
After the end of World War II the airport facilities were put to a variety of uses. During 1947 and 1948 the former RAAF base was used as a campus for the
University of Melbourne, providing accommodation and classrooms for first year students in Medicine and Dentistry. Later, commencing in 1950 the facilities were used as a Migrant Centre, with most of the migrants employed on horticultural properties around the Mildura area.
Passenger activity at Mildura Airport has grown steadily since the early 1960s. Night flights were approved in 1964 and in 1965 passenger numbers exceeded 20,000 per annum for the first time. By the early 1990s the original terminal building was becoming increasingly inadequate and a new terminal building was completed in 1994.
In April 2004 a significant extension to the Airport terminal building was opened. The extension of the terminal resulted in the floor area doubling from 500m2 to just over 1,000m2 and a considerable improvement in services available to passengers, visitors and the airlines. The extension has dramatically improved passenger movement at times of peak load. This has been aided by the subsequent addition of a further 52 public car parking spaces and a 60 space security car park.