Sydney Airport Cams

Located 5 miles south of the city center, in the Mascot suburb of Sydney Australia is Sydney’s major and only airport the Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport.

The airport which is often referred to as the Kingsford Smith of Sydney Airport is the primary hub for the Australian flag carrier and largest airline by fleet size, international flights and international destinations, Qantas Airways Limited as well as serves as a secondary base of operations for the Australia’s second-largest airline Virgin Blue Airlines and Australia’s low-budget airline carrier Jetstar Airways.

Sydney Airport is located next to the open oceanic embayment Botany Bay and has three runways commonly referred by the locals as north-south, east-west and third runways.

Sydney Airport has three passenger terminals. Terminal 1 today known as the international terminal is located in the north western sector and has 25 gates served by aerobridges.

Terminal 1 also has a number of remote bays occasionally used to accommodate large aircraft such as the Airbus A380 on arrival and departure flights aboard Singapore Airlines; Dallas, London by way of Dubai, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and China Southern Airlines. Terminal is separated by a runway which results in connecting passengers subjected to longer wait times.

Terminal 2 located in the north-eastern sector of the airport was base for operations of the former major Australian airline group Ansett-ANA. Terminal 2 which has 16 parking bays serving Virgin Australia Regional Airways, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, Regional Express Airlines and Tigerair Australia is served by aerobridges and several remote bays for regional aircrafts.

Terminal 3 Sydney Airport’s domestic terminal is used by Qantas Airlines after moving their base of operations form Terminal 2 in 2013. Terminal 3 building which is primarily the result of renovations made during the 1990s has 14 parking bays served by aerobridges, a large Qantas Club lounge and a dedicated Chairmans lounge for its Business Class passengers.

Facts About The Sydney Airport

• In addition to being the longest continuously operated commercial airport, Sydney Airport is also the world’s oldest and busiest commercial international airport handling over 35 million passengers in 2011 and recording more than 320,000 aircraft movements in 2013.
• In 2012 the airport was ranked as the world’s 31st busiest airport.
• Sydney Airport is managed by the privately owned Sydney Airport Corporation and a senior executive out of the Macquaire Group turned CEO, Karrie Mather.
• Sydney Airport serves a total of 46 domestic and 43 international destinations.
• The site used to build the Sydney Airport was originally a bullock paddock owned by the Kensington Race Club and kept as a hedge against the loss of its government-owned site in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales. In 1921 the federal government purchased 161 acres in Mascot for the intent of building a public airfield resulting in the subsequent acquisition of the race club two years later. In 1920 Mascot Sydney Airport was declared an aerodrome and by 1924 had began its first regular flights. The first gravel runways were built in 1933 and by 1949 has built an additional three runways.
• In 1936 the airport recognition of the early Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith who also made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia in 1928 was renamed the Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport.
• In 1959 the airport built its first paved runways designated 07/25 and 16/34 to accommodate larger jets with runway 07/25 mostly used for smaller lighter aircraft. Runway 16/34 today recognized as runway 16R is Australia’s longest operations runway.
• By the 1960s the airport recognized the need for a new terminal. The new terminal which was designed by the property solutions provider Paynter and Dixon Industries was officially inaugurated on May 3, 1970 by Queen Elizabeth II.
• The first Boeing 747 jet to land at the airport was the American owned Pan American Airways Clipper Flying Cloud on October 4, 1970 landing on the airport’s east runway. Since then the runway was extended to become one of the longest runways in the southern hemisphere.
• In 1992 the airport extended its international terminal for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with a further development project in 2010 to include new duty free facilities, leisure areas and shops for passengers.
• In 1994 the airport completed its third runway. The runway which quickly become a topic of controversy due to increased aircraft movements especially over many of Australia’s inner suburbs resulted in the formation of a No Aircraft Noise Party to effect flight curfews between the hours of 11pm and 6am and a continuation of the use of noise abatement on departing aircrafts. In response to the increased complaints of aircraft noise, the Australian government in 1995 enacted the Sydney Airport Curfew Act which limits the operational hours of the airport to a scheduled number approved take-offs and landings. As of 2009 violating the Curfew act can result in fines of up to $550.000.
• Sydney Airport in addition to the Curfew Act is subjected to cap of 80 aircraft movements each hour which often results in an increase delays especially during peak hours.
• In 2003 plans for a third airport to be located on the outskirts of Sydney was shelved prior further re-examination in 2009-2012 which revealed that Sydney Airport would not be able to survive by 2030.
• In 2010 Sydney Airport International Terminal received a $500 million renovation which included a new baggage system, additional shops and passenger waiting areas and other improvements.
• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in 2010 released a report criticizing the airport’s price gouging and ranking Sydney Airport as the world’s fifth most expensive airport. The report show that the airport recorded the average prices at $13 per passenger significantly much higher than the price of $8 recorded by the Melbourne Airport.

Sydney Airport Webcams

Sydney Cam

EarthCam Networks Sydney Cam in association with the inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Barangaroo offers viewers an amazing view of the Sydney Australia including the famed Sydney Opera House and harbor bridge located north of the airport. By clicking on the link provided below you can watch as boats navigating around the harbor of this popular city on the south-east coast of the Tasman Sea.

View Sydney Cam.

Sydney Skyline – Wide View City Webcam

This webcam shows Sydney’s complete city skyline from the Lower North Shore suburb of Linley Point near Lane Cove. To the left you can see the Riverview peninsula close to St Ignatius College Catholic secondary school with the exclusive, affluent suburb of Linley Point to the right with the North-Western region of Burns Bay central joining the Land Cove River. Just behind the Lane Cove River you can see the suburb of Hinters Hill situated on the small peninsula that separates the Lane Cove River and the Parramatta River.

View Sydney Skyline webcam.