# Darwin International Airport / RAAF Darwin (DRW / YPDN)

**Darwin International Airport / RAAF Darwin** (IATA: DRW, ICAO: YPDN) is a large airport in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It opened in 1919. It has 2 runways; the longest is 3,354 m (11,004 ft). It is operated by Royal Australian Air Force. In 2022 it handled 1.7 million passengers.

Web page: https://dromopedia.com/airports/ypdn

## At a glance

- IATA / ICAO: DRW / YPDN
- Type: Large airport
- Operator: Royal Australian Air Force
- Serves: Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
- Opened: 1919
- Elevation: 31 m / 103 ft
- Coordinates: -12.4150, 130.8818
- Runways: 2
- Longest runway: 3,354 m / 11,004 ft
- Passengers: 1,673,129 (2022)
- Time zone: UTC+9:30 · Australia/Darwin
- Website: https://www.darwinairport.com.au/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_International_Airport (25 languages)
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17609
- Weather station: YPDN · WMO 94120
- Ident: YPDN

## Timeline

- 1919: Darwin International Airport / RAAF Darwin opens.

## Runways

| Ident | Length | Width | Surface | True headings | Lighted |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 11/29 | 3,354 m / 11,004 ft | 60 m / 197 ft | Asphalt | 109° / 289° | yes |
| 18/36 | 1,524 m / 5,000 ft | 30 m / 98 ft | Asphalt | 180° / 360° | yes |

## Passengers per year

| Year | Passengers | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2011 | 1,911,716 | Wikidata |
| 2012 | 1,972,596 | Wikidata |
| 2013 | 2,023,277 | Wikidata |
| 2014 | 2,117,132 | Wikidata |
| 2015 | 2,062,046 | Wikidata |
| 2016 | 2,099,773 | Wikidata |
| 2017 | 2,104,408 | Wikidata |
| 2018 | 2,003,832 | Wikidata |
| 2019 | 1,983,490 | Wikidata |
| 2020 | 702,406 | Wikidata |
| 2021 | 1,075,116 | Wikidata |
| 2022 | 1,673,129 | Wikidata |

## Routes

21 destinations in 4 countries. From the airport's Wikipedia article.

### Year-round (18)

- [KTR](https://dromopedia.com/airports/yptn.md) Tindal Airport · Australia · 285 km / 177 mi · Airnorth
- [GBL](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ygbi.md) South Goulburn Is Airport · Australia · 285 km / 177 mi · Fly Tiwi
- [KNX](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ypku.md) East Kimberley Regional (Kununurra) Airport · Australia · 441 km / 274 mi · Airnorth
- [ELC](https://dromopedia.com/airports/yeld.md) Elcho Island Airport · Australia · 511 km / 318 mi · Airnorth
- [GTE](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ygte.md) Groote Eylandt Airport · Australia · 628 km / 390 mi · Airnorth
- [GOV](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ypgv.md) Gove Airport · Australia · 645 km / 401 mi · Airnorth
- [DIL](https://dromopedia.com/airports/wpdl.md) Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport · Timor-Leste · 727 km / 452 mi · QantasLink, Airnorth, Aero Dili
- [TCA](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ytnk.md) Tennant Creek Airport · Australia · 877 km / 545 mi · Airnorth
- [ASP](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ybas.md) Alice Springs Airport · Australia · 1,306 km / 812 mi · QantasLink, Airnorth
- [CNS](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ybcs.md) Cairns International Airport · Australia · 1,674 km / 1,040 mi · QantasLink, Airnorth
- [DPS](https://dromopedia.com/airports/wadd.md) Denpasar I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport · Indonesia · 1,765 km / 1,097 mi · Jetstar Airways
- [TSV](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ybtl.md) Townsville Airport / RAAF Base Townsville · Australia · 1,860 km / 1,156 mi · Airnorth
- [ADL](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ypad.md) Adelaide International Airport · Australia · 2,621 km / 1,629 mi · Qantas Airways, Jetstar Airways
- [PER](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ypph.md) Perth International Airport · Australia · 2,653 km / 1,648 mi · Qantas Airways, Virgin Australia
- [BNE](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ybbn.md) Brisbane International Airport · Australia · 2,850 km / 1,771 mi · Qantas Airways, Virgin Australia, Jetstar Airways
- [MEL](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ymml.md) Melbourne Airport · Australia · 3,132 km / 1,946 mi · Qantas Airways, Virgin Australia, Jetstar Airways
- [SYD](https://dromopedia.com/airports/yssy.md) Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport · Australia · 3,154 km / 1,960 mi · Qantas Airways, Jetstar Airways
- [SIN](https://dromopedia.com/airports/wsss.md) Singapore Changi Airport · Singapore · 3,340 km / 2,075 mi · Singapore Airlines, Qantas Airways

### Seasonal (4)

- [OOL](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ybcg.md) Gold Coast Airport · Australia · 2,929 km / 1,820 mi · Jetstar Airways
- [CBR](https://dromopedia.com/airports/yscb.md) Canberra Airport · Australia · 3,141 km / 1,952 mi · QantasLink
- [SYD](https://dromopedia.com/airports/yssy.md) Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport · Australia · 3,154 km / 1,960 mi · Virgin Australia
- [SIN](https://dromopedia.com/airports/wsss.md) Singapore Changi Airport · Singapore · 3,340 km / 2,075 mi · Qantas Airways

### Charter (1)

- [BIK](https://dromopedia.com/airports/wabb.md) Frans Kaisiepo Airport · Indonesia · 1,375 km / 854 mi · Airnorth

## Airlines

The figure is how many destinations each airline flies from DRW, as the routes above have them. Hubs from Wikidata.

### Hub airlines (2)

- TL [Airnorth](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/airnorth) · 11
- NC [National Jet Express](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/national-jet-express)

### Passenger (7)

- JQ [Jetstar Airways](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/jetstar-airways) · 6
- QF [Qantas Airways](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/qantas-airways) · 6
- QF [QantasLink](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/qantaslink) · 4
- VA [Virgin Australia](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/virgin-australia) · 4
- [Aero Dili](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/aero-dili) · 1
- FT [Fly Tiwi](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/fly-tiwi) · 1
- SQ [Singapore Airlines](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/singapore-airlines) · 1

## Rankings

Ranked among 48,075 open airports; = marks a shared place.

| Measure | Value | World | Region | Country |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Passengers | 1.7M (2022) | #632 of 3,974 | #18 in Oceania | #10 in AU |
| Longest runway | 3,354 m / 11,004 ft | =649 of 29,858 | #12 in Oceania | #6 in AU |
| Elevation | 31 m / 103 ft | =36,731 of 43,403 | =1,543 in Oceania | =952 in AU |
| Age | Opened 1919 | =173 of 15,079 | #3 in Oceania | #3 in AU |
| Runways | 2 | =715 of 29,978 | =62 in Oceania | =33 in AU |

## Radio frequencies

| Type | Description | MHz |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A/D | APP | 125.200 |
| ARTC | BRISBANE CNTR | 118.150 |
| ATIS | ATIS | 112.600 |
| CLD | CLNC DEL | 126.800 |
| DEP | DEP | 123.000 |
| GND | GND | 121.800 |
| MISC | RAAF AIR OPS | 897.400 |
| TWR | TWR | 133.100 |

## Nearby airports

- [BRT](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ybti.md) Bathurst Island Airport · 78 km / 48 mi
- [SNB](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ysnb.md) Snake Bay Airport · 114 km / 71 mi
- [GPN](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ygpt.md) Garden Point Airport · 123 km / 77 mi

## Sources

- [NOAA Aviation Weather Center](https://aviationweather.gov/data/api/): Weather data: NOAA Aviation Weather Center (Public Domain (US Government))
- [OurAirports](https://ourairports.com/data/): Airport data from OurAirports (Public Domain)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org): Structured data from Wikidata (CC0 1.0)
- [Wikipedia: “Darwin International Airport”](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Darwin_International_Airport&oldid=1373589943), revision of 6 Sep 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [timezone-boundary-builder](https://github.com/evansiroky/timezone-boundary-builder): Time zone boundaries © OpenStreetMap contributors, timezone-boundary-builder (ODbL 1.0)
- Every figure with its source: https://dromopedia.com/airports/ypdn/data