Wagga Wagga Airport is a regional airport serving the city of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, Australia. The airport is located in the suburb of Forest Hill, southeast of the city centre, on land leased from the Australian Department of Defence. It shares runways and some aviation facilities with the adjacent RAAF Base Wagga, which hosts ground training establishments and supporting military air traffic. Rex Airlines maintain a strong presence at Wagga Wagga Airport, which is the main engineering and maintenance base for its fleet of Saab 340 aircraft. The airline also conducts an in-house program to train cadet pilots through a campus of the Australian Airline Pilot Academy at the airport. In the 2020-21 financial year the airport recorded 71,862 passengers which made it the 36th busiest airport in Australia. History Establishment and World War II During 1939, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) were looking to establish an inland training base. Pursuing this, Group Captain A. H. "Harry" Cobby (top scoring World War I ace) contacted Wagga resident Hughie Condon and asked him to suggest possible sites suitable for the establishment of an RAAF station. Condon was well suited to the task, being regional Examiner of Airmen with the Department of Defence. He recommended a site at the village of Forest Hill, this being situated about five nautical miles east of Wagga. The site was situated above the Murrumbidgee flood plain and was of suitable dimension. It was already serviced by rail, offered frontage to the Sturt Highway, and was sufficiently distant from the town of Wagga Wagga. Cobby flew to inspect the site, arriving in an RAAF Avro Anson. He agreed with Condon's assessment and the go-ahead was soon given. The identified land was resumed from the Brunskill and Lyons families in the first half of 1939 and before long, a Fearnes bus was shuttling workers to the site. It is of note that this was planned as a permanent base and preceded the Empire Air Training Scheme. At this time the Wagga Wagga Council (not yet a city) operated a civilian aerodrome. This was located on Hammond Avenue, East Wagga Wagga. Many other councils had hoped to host the new base. The Mayor of Junee, H.G. Weaver, claimed that Junee was a better choice, claiming it was less susceptible to fog, had flatter surrounding terrain and could offer railway workshops (the roundhouse) for aircraft repair.