93.0%
People within 90 minutes
25.7 million people, counting a whole region once its main point is in range.
96.6%
This week's heat in range
Share of clearer satellite heat detections within 90 minutes of a recommended base.
87.3%
Dangerous weather in range
Share of dangerous-weather days, over 2022–2025, in regions a recommended base can reach.
93.0% vs 93.5%
People, recommended vs cities
Share of people within 90 minutes.
96.6% vs 9.5%
Heat, recommended vs cities
This week's satellite heat within 90 minutes.
Recommended bases: Tamworth, Mildura, Kalgoorlie Boulder, Longreach, Kununurra, Alice Springs.
Recommended bases against a biggest-cities line-up
People for whom each recommended base is the closest cover
What this means
The recommended bases reach 93.0% of people against 93.5% for the biggest cities, 96.6% of this week's heat against 9.5%, and 87.3% of the dangerous-weather record against 32.7%. At 60 minutes those recommended bases reach only 34.0% of people, while the city airports still reach 90.0%. A 90-minute flight is what lets an inland aircraft still count a capital as covered.
Exact values
Share of the country within flying time
| Window | People, recommended | People, biggest cities | Heat, recommended | Heat, biggest cities | Dangerous weather, recommended | Dangerous weather, biggest cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 minutes | 93.0% | 93.5% | 96.6% | 9.5% | 87.3% | 32.7% |
| 60 minutes | 34.0% | 90.0% | 1.5% | 3.8% | 34.1% | 29.8% |
Bases
| Place | Airport | People it is closest for | Heat it is closest for | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alice Springs | Alice Springs Airport | 105,272 | 2,734 | Recommended |
| Brisbane | Brisbane International Airport | 0 | 0 | Biggest-cities line-up only |
| Longreach | Longreach Airport | 769,693 | 4,863 | Recommended |
| Mildura | Mildura Airport | 9 million | 99 | Recommended |
| Melbourne | Melbourne Airport | 0 | 0 | Biggest-cities line-up only |
| Adelaide | Adelaide International Airport | 0 | 0 | Biggest-cities line-up only |
| Kalgoorlie Boulder | Kalgoorlie Boulder Airport | 2.6 million | 101 | Recommended |
| Kununurra | East Kimberley Regional (Kununurra) Airport | 262,016 | 2,341 | Recommended |
| Perth | Perth International Airport | 0 | 0 | Biggest-cities line-up only |
| Sydney | Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport | 0 | 0 | Biggest-cities line-up only |
| Tamworth | Tamworth Airport | 13 million | 295 | Recommended |
| Newcastle | Newcastle Airport | 0 | 0 | Biggest-cities line-up only |
Planning assumptions
| Aircraft | 6 large air tankers |
| Cruise speed | 450 km/h |
| Time to get airborne | 15 minutes |
| Counted as covered | The region's official location point is within 90 minutes |
| Candidate bases | Australian airports with a paved runway of at least 1,800 m and scheduled service, plus long-runway RAAF and naval fields on the public list |
| Biggest-cities line-up | The main airport, by runway length, in each of the six city areas with the most people living within 100 km |
| People | ABS estimated residents at 30 June 2025 |
| Dangerous weather | Days from 2022 to 2025 when the fire-weather score reached the severe band |
| This week's heat | Clearer satellite detections, one count per small patch per day |
| Hotter-day picture | The same historical days, drawn more often when they were hotter |