The mayor of Narromine was unhappy that his suggested site was not even inspected. The building layout was carefully designed so as to enable the aircraft landing area to have potential for 'all over' operations. Aircraft could potentially touch down anywhere, in any direction, according to the pilots' operational needs. RAAF Forest Hill became operational on 29 July 1940 and initially was home to 2SFTS. Service Flying Training Schools conducted advanced training of graduates of the Elementary Flying Training Schools. At the close of World War II, civilian flying recommenced. A decision was made to accommodate civilian flying operations at Forest Hill. A Bellman hangar was allocated for civilian use and Mobil/Vacuum installed an aircraft refuelling facility. At this time the council aerodrome on Hammond Avenue fell into disuse. Post war expansion With new transport aircraft, such as the Convair Metropolitan, coming into widespread use, it was decided to construct a bitumen runway. This was timed so as to be completed for Elizabeth II's visit to Wagga in 1954. The introduction of Fokker F28 Fellowship regional jets by Airlines of New South Wales in 1983 to serve larger regional centres across the state necessitated further upgrades to Wagga Wagga Airport. The Federal Government allocated $2.3 million for the works, which included construction of a control tower and Air Traffic Control facilities, to be completed by 1985. A new terminal building with separated arrival and departure areas and a kiosk was also constructed as part of the upgrade, replacing the 1940s facilities which had become crowded and inadequate. Surrounding the terminal, additional apron space was provided to simultaneously accommodate a regional jet, two commuter aircraft and one military transport (such as a C-130). A extension of runway 05/23 and full-length parallel taxiway was also investigated, but the government did not proceed with these works. At the time, projections indicated that the number of passengers handled by the airport would grow from 88,000 to over 130,000 per year by 2000, when there were expected to be 31,880 annual aircraft movements. On 28 January 1992 the Wagga Wagga City Council secured a 30-year lease from the Commonwealth of Australia which included a $2 million to upgrade the airport's runway to allow it to handle Boeing 737s. 21st century In June 2009, Wagga Wagga Airport was listed third for the world's strangest sounding airports. In December 2009, a $2.2 million upgrade to increase its