Airnorth was established in 1978 and started operations on 4 July that year. It operated charter flights only until scheduled services were introduced in 1981. At this time, the airline's fleet included the first turbine powered aircraft in the Northern Territory, a Beechcraft Super King Air as well as a Douglas DC-3. In 1993 the Skyport Group became a major shareholder and Capiteq Ltd was formed. It was formerly known as Air North International. During the 1990s, Airnorth had a well established regional network and by 1997 had introduced both Fairchild Metro 23 and Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia turboprop aircraft to the fleet. Beginning in September 1999, Airnorth operated charters from Darwin to Dili, East Timor, on behalf of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. In 2000, this became a scheduled service, Airnorth's first international route. In October 2003, Airnorth acquired the assets of Airlines of South Australia with the intention of gradually merging the two companies and operating under Airnorth's Air Operator's Certificate. In March 2004 Airnorth acquired the assets of Emu Airways, but in 2005 sold off both ASA and Emu. On 9 November 2005, ASA and Emu Airways ceased operations. In 2007, Airnorth introduced the Embraer ERJ-170 to its fleet, the first jet aircraftoperated by the airline. In 2012, it announced a direct service between Darwin and Townsville, the first Australian airline to offer a non-stop connection between these cities. On 5 February 2015, it was announced that Bristow Helicopters Australia Ltd., a division of the US-based Bristow Group, had acquired an 85 percent controlling interest in Airnorth. Bristow stated that Airnorth would retain its name and brand identity. Later in 2015 Bristow Helicopters Australia purchased the remaining shares to obtain full ownership. Under Bristow's ownership, Airnorth responded to a downturn in the mining industry, restructuring the route network by withdrawing services to Karratha, Port Hedland and the Gold Coast. A fifth ERJ-170 joined the fleet in 2016. The increased availability of the jets allowed expansion into South East Queensland and Victoria, commencing operations between Wellcamp Airport near Toowoomba to Melbourne and Cairns from March 2016. Within months the airline added further flights from Wellcamp to Townsville with all three new routes codesharing with Qantas. Bristow Group announced ongoing concerns regarding its financial position and its ability for future operations over the next 12 months. A major shareholder is pushing for the board to be replaced and underperforming Airnorth and Eastern Airlines to be sold.
Destinations
The airline operates over 300 scheduled and contract charter departures weekly, serving 21 domestic and international destinations including:
Northern Territory
*Alice Springs
*Bootu Creek*
*Darwin
*Elcho Island
*Gove
*Groote Eylandt
*Katherine
*Maningrida
*McArthur River Mine
*Milingimbi
*Tennant Creek
Queensland
*Cairns
*Gold Coast
*Toowoomba
*Townsville
Timor Leste
*Dili
Victoria
*Melbourne
Western Australia
*Broome
*Kununurra
*Perth
*Truscott
In addition to scheduled flights, Airnorth operates charter services for a wide variety of companies including mining & resources, defence and government clients.
Fleet
, the Airnorth fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Aircraft
In Service
Orders
Passengers
Embraer EMB-120
5
—
30
Embraer ERJ-170
5
—
76
Total
10
0
Incidents and accidents
On 22 March 2010, one of Airnorth's Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia aircraft crashed into bushland near the RAAF Base Darwingolf course at approximately 10:10, shortly after taking off from Darwin International Airport on a training flight. The two crew members, who were the only people on board, were killed.
