Rose Bay Water Airport

Rose Bay Water Airport
Rose Bay Water Airport
	IATA: RSE; ICAO: YRAY;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Serves	Sydney
Location	Rose Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Opened	4 August 1938
Time zone	AEST (+10:00)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (+11:00)
Coordinates	33°52′14″S 151°15′19″E / 33.87056°S 151.25528°E

Rose Bay Water Airport, (IATA: RSE) also known as Sydney Water Airport, is a water airport located in the Sydney suburb of Rose Bay, New South Wales, Australia. It is eight kilometres from the city centre and is one of two water airports in Sydney, the other being Palm Beach Water Airport.

History

On 4 August 1938, Rose Bay Water Airport was officially opened.^[1] However, it already had been established as a flying boat base on a 'temporary basis', and was the starting point for the Sydney to London flights that were operated by Qantas Empire Airways and Imperial Airways in a codeshare agreement.^[2] This made it Australia's first international airport. In 1942, due to the outbreak of World War II, commercial flights were suspended.^[3]

Ansett Airways commenced operating services to Lord Howe Island in 1953.^[4] After the arrival of passenger jetliners in the 1950s, a gradual demise in flying boats began. In 1955, Qantas discontinued its flying boat service.^[5] Ansett continued to operate flying boat services to Lord Howe Island until 1974 when the island's land airport opened.^[6]

Facilities

Sydney By Seaplane has a single small terminal to serve customers.^[7] Sydney Seaplanes and Seawing Airways are based in another building at Rose Bay.^[8]^[9]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Sydney Seaplanes	Charter: Berowra Waters, Canberra, Hunter Valley, Lake Jindabyne, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Palm Beach, Port Stephens, Sydney-Mascot, Wollongong^[10]

Sydney by Seaplane and Seawing Airways, which are both trading names of Krug Agencies Pty Ltd,^[11] operate return sight-seeing flights to Palm Beach^[12]^[13] and elsewhere.^[14]^[15] Sydney Seaplanes offers a series of tour packages, as well as scenic flights.^[16]