A $5 million Department of Transport project to seal the airstrip at the remote Aboriginal community of Warmun has transformed aviation access for the community.
During the wet season, the community’s previously unsealed airstrip became non-serviceable, isolating residents from essential health services, including emergency evacuations by the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). In such instances, RFDS operations were often redirected to the Argyle mine site, over 65 kilometres or approximately an hour’s drive away.
The upgrade of the Warmun airstrip, completed in 2023 in collaboration with Main Roads Kimberley Region, has replaced the red dirt and rocks with a new asphalt surface and clear line markings.
RFDS Senior Pilot Finely (Fin) Garside said prior to the upgrade, the RFDS would ask Warmun community members to conduct the ‘Landcruiser test’ by driving down the dirt airstrip to check its condition after heavy rain.
