Hobart Airport is an international airport located in Cambridge, north-east of Hobart. It is the major and fastest growing passenger airport in Tasmania. The Federal government owned airport is operated by the Tasmanian Gateway Consortium under a 99-year lease. The airport maintains a conjoined international and domestic terminal. The major airlines servicing the airport are Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia operating domestic flights predominantly to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. International flights to Auckland (New Zealand) operate twice to three times weekly with Air New Zealand. Due to the airport's southern location, Skytraders operates regular flights to Antarctica on behalf of the Australian Antarctic Division using an Airbus A319. Hobart International Airport was opened in 1956 and privatised in 1988. Occupying approximately of land, the airport is situated on a narrow peninsula. Take-offs and landings are inevitably directed over bodies of water regardless of approach or departure direction. The region immediately surrounding the airport remains largely unpopulated, which enables the airport to operate curfew-free services. In the 2018–19 financial year, the airport handled 2.6m passenger movements, making it the ninth busiest airport in Australia. History Prior to the existence of the airport, the region was served by Cambridge Airport, a small airport located close to the existing site. As air travel became more frequent and the number of flights increased, it was clear that Cambridge airport was only suitable for light aircraft. In June 1948, Prime Minister Ben Chifley announced the construction of a new AU£760,000 airport at Llanherne. With Australia's continual interest in Antarctica, it was believed the southernmost airport of Australia would serve as an ideal base for heavy aircraft serving the region. Hobart Airport was commissioned in 1956 as the primary regular public transport airport. It was initially named Llanherne Airport, after the property on which it was built, but the name has since fallen into disuse. In its first full year of operation, the airport processed 120,086 passengers and 11,724 tonnes of freight, ranking fifth in Australia. By 1957, the airport's infrastructure comprised a small terminal building which remains at the south-eastern end of the current terminal, two freight hangars, a fuel depot, a timber weather station, and the airport administration office and works compound. In 1964, the Federal Government upgraded and lengthened the runway to cater for jet aircraft. The runway was extended again in 1985 to cater for large aircraft such as the Boeing 747