BTW – to lay some of the Learmonth Airport speculation to rest. The runway is big, long and strong. The place is built to cope with, amongst other military things, B747 aircraft. I know because I’ve designed some of the parking procedures.
It’s a reasonable choice for an emergency landing. I was last there on a stopover a couple of weeks ago, and looked closely at the airport condition. It’s in good condition.
Yes, the terminal is [nice but] too small for a 747 (and A330), the facilities are very limited, there is no ARFF, the nearby town is very very small, the hospital and emergency services are very limited, and the hotel accommodation in the area probably won’t cope with 300 pax. But for PPRUNE readers around the world, most of Australia is like that. That is why we have the Flying Doctor to deliver medical services in outback areas [and to emergency landings of A330s]. Learmonth is not the Antarctic where passengers die of exposure. The passenger comfort issues at Learmonth are flies, lousy cappuccinos and sunburn while waiting for the aircraft to come up to ferry them out.