Darwin International Airport / RAAF Darwin

Darwin International Airport is the largest airport in Australia's Northern Territory and a joint civilian-military airfield shared with RAAF Base Darwin, making it one of the most operationally significant airports in northern Australia. Serving the tropical capital of the Top End, DRW handles 37 scheduled routes to 26 nonstop destinations operated by 11 airlines. Its strategic position on the Timor Sea places it closer to Dili, Jakarta, and Port Moresby than to any Australian state capital, and this geography shapes the airport's distinctive traffic mix. The airport operates two lighted asphalt runways: the primary 11/29 at 11,004 ft (3,354 m) and the secondary 18/36 at 5,000 ft (1,524 m), both at 103 ft (31 m) elevation. The 11/29 strip is long enough to handle Boeing 747 and C-17 heavy-lift operations and frequently does, given DRW's role in ANZUS defence logistics. Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, and Airnorth operate the domestic backbone to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide, while Airnorth also runs extensive intra-Territory service to Gove, Alice Springs, Groote Eylandt, and Katherine. Internationally significant as the principal Australian gateway to Southeast Asia's nearest neighbours — Timor-Leste, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Scheduled service to Dili (DIL), Singapore (SIN), and Denpasar (DPS) reflects this geography, with Royal Brunei and Philippine Airlines historically serving DRW as well. Darwin is also the designated alternate for several long-haul transpacific and Southeast Asia–Australia routes, and the U.S. Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, stationed since 2012 under the Force Posture Initiative, drives substantial military transit traffic. The airport suffered the most severe civilian airfield damage of any Australian airport in WWII, struck 64 times by Japanese air raids beginning 19 February 1942.