Taimodels has recently released their rendition of Cairns Airport (YBCS) for Microsoft Flight Simulator, serving the city of Cairns in Queensland, Australia, with a yearly average of 5 million passengers.

‍

The airport was built in 1936 on 162 hectares of land bought by the Cairns City Council, originally sporting three runways made of cinders, red earth, weathered rock, and sand. Then, in the early 1940s, the Australian Government purchased the airport to adapt it for RAF use, paving and lengthening the main runway to comport larger aircraft.

‍

Twenty years later, the airport was upgraded to receive jet aircraft, with an expansion and a runway extension followed by extensive flattening.

‍

With the ever-growing passenger traffic figures, there was pressure in the late 1970s to expand the passenger terminal, which went on to happen in 1982. Finished two years later, it was just the first stage of three. The whole ordeal ended in 1997 with the conclusion of a three-story Airport Administration Center.

‍

In 2007, the domestic terminal was redeveloped, costing the administration around 200 million Australian Dollars. 

‍

The last upgrade started in 2019 and was completed a year later, increasing the departure hall area and adding dining and retail facilities. It’s part of their plan to prepare the airport for handling up to 6 million passengers annually from 2027.

‍

In early 2023, they announced the first major upgrade to the international terminal, rolling out in stages to minimize passenger disruption.

‍

It’s a hub for QantasLink and Skytrans Airlines, and served by Air New Zealand, Air Niugini, Airnorth, Alliance Airlines, Asia Pacific Airlines, Bonza, Hinterland Aviation, Jetstar, PNG Air, Qantas, Rex Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia.

‍

The scenery features an accurate rendition of the airport, with hand-made PBR ground markings, custom terminals, realistic lighting, up-to-date taxiways, performance-friendly optimization, and custom jetways.

‍

It’s available on SimMarket for roughly $19.01, requiring at least 736.46 MB of free hard disk space to install.

Stay tuned to Threshold for more flight simulation news!

‍