Learmonth Airport
Learmonth Airport (IATA: LEA, ICAO: YPLM) is a civil airport, co-located on the site of RAAF Base Learmonth, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base. The airport is located near the town of Exmouth on the north-west coast of Western Australia, in Australia.
Learmonth Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Civil aviation | ||||||||||
| Owner | Department of Defence | ||||||||||
| Operator | Shire of Exmouth | ||||||||||
| Serves | Exmouth, Western Australia | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 19 ft / 6 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 22°14′09″S 114°05′19″E | ||||||||||
| Website | Learmonth Airport | ||||||||||
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YPLM Location in Western Australia | |||||||||||
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Established in the 1940s as an airfield, the current airport is operated by the Shire of Exmouth under a lease from the Australian Government Department of Defence and occupies an area of 23.9 hectares (59 acres) on the RAAF Base Learmonth site. The terminal opened on 3 December 1999.
On 7 October 2008, Qantas Flight 72 made an emergency landing at RAAF Learmonth. On 1 June 2012, an AirAsia X flight to Perth made an emergency landing at Learmonth Airport for refuelling. Learmonth is designated an emergency alternative airport in the case of fog or bad weather affecting Perth Airport.