# Christmas Island Airport (XCH)

> Flying Fish Cove, CX · IATA: XCH · ICAO: YPXM · Medium Airport

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `XCH` |
| ICAO | `YPXM` |
| City | Flying Fish Cove |
| Country | CX |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 279 m |
| Cargo | ❌ |
| GPS | -10.44938, 105.69093 |

## Description

2,103 metres of asphalt (runway 18/36) and one scheduled airline: that is the operational reality of Christmas Island Airport (IATA XCH, ICAO YPXM), the air link of an Australian external territory some 2,600 km northwest of Perth and about 350 km south of Java. Virgin Australia serves the island from Perth, and air freight moves exclusively as belly cargo on those passenger flights — mail, spare parts, fresh produce and medical shipments — with no cargo terminal, no freighter service and no standalone air cargo handling. Phosphate, the island's only significant export, leaves by sea, as do inbound fuel, construction material and consumer goods; even paving material for runway work has to be shipped in. Forwarders therefore consolidate Christmas Island shipments through Perth (PER), booking belly capacity for urgent items and sea freight for everything else. The annual red crab migration, when millions of crabs cross roads including the airport access routes, is far better known than any freight function.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/christmas-island-airport-xch](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/christmas-island-airport-xch)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/christmas-island-airport-xch](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/christmas-island-airport-xch)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/christmas-island-airport-xch/llm-summary*