Fairbairn , Canberra Fairbairn was a base of the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) located in Australia ' s national capital , Canberra , Australian Capital Territory . Over the years the name of the establishment , and the use of the land , has changed . The land occupies an area North and East of the runways at what is currently known as Canberra International Airport . RAAF base . RAAF squadrons were permanently based at the Canberra Aerodrome from 1939 . The base was formally established as RAAF Station Canberra on 1 April 1940 . In 1941 part of the airport was named Fairbairn Airbase after the late Minister for Air and Civil Aviation James Fairbairn , Member of the Australian House of Representatives , who was killed in an aircraft crash in the proximity of the airfield on 13 August 1940 . The first Netherlands East Indies Air Force squadron was 18 ( NEI ) Squadron , which was formed as an RAAF Squadron at Fairbairn airfield in Canberra on 4 April 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel B . J . Fiedeldij . The Squadron was formed from the two groups of Dutch airmen at Archerfield and Melbourne . It flew North American B - 25 Mitchell s . The Squadron ' s Dutch personnel ( and a few Javanese ) were complemented by a number of RAAF personnel covering both aircrew and ground crew occupations . The base became Headquarters RAAF Canberra in 1952 . In December 1960 the base was selected as the locality for the RAAF Staff College , and in 1962 , the area was renamed RAAF Base Fairbairn . Defence Establishment Fairbairn . The Defence Reform Program ( DRP ) determined the base was no longer required and on 28 May 1998 the lease on the base was sold to Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd . Part of the base was sub - leased back to the Australian Department of Defence on a five - year lease to allow the progressive wind up of operations . The base was decommissioned on 27 June 2003 and the domestic area became known as Defence Establishment Fairbairn , with Canberra International Airport and the Capital Airport Group having full control of the airfield and the site . The only remaining military unit is No . 34 Squadron RAAF , which is responsible for the operations of the RAAF ' s VIP transport aircraft that are used to transport Australian officials such as the Prime Minister , cabinet ministers , the Governor General , the leader of the opposition and high ranking defence force officers when travelling both internationally or within Australia . Besides being the home base of No 34 Squadron ' s special purpose VIP BBJ1s and Bombardier Challenger 604s , Fairbairn is also regularly used by other defence force aircraft . The airport is used by official aircraft carrying foreign heads of state or government when visiting Canberra , for example when the US President visits Canberra , Air Force One lands there . Fairbairn was also home to No . 28 Squadron ( Active Reserve Squadron ) until it was relocated to HMAS Harman when Fairbairn was decommissioned . Business Park . In 2006 , Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd , and the airport management company Capital Airport Group Pty Ltd , jointly released a prospectus and embarked on a building program in the area now called " Fairbairn " . These new buildings have been leased and are occupied by the Department of Defence and other tenants .