Aircraft maintenance engineer Derek Darlow, of Sports Aviation Services, said that the mood at the airport on the last day was one of anger and disappointment.

``We had to finish up all our business and fly all of the planes out of there and it was very disappointing for everyone to see it close for good,'' Mr Darlow said.

The former Federal Government sold the airport to a consortium of firms, which included Leighton Holdings and Mirvac, in 2003, under the condition that it remain an airport for the next five years before its lease became a freehold one.

Freehold ownership of the Hoxton Park Airport site transferred to the new owners, Hoxton Park Airport Limited, on October 27.

An airport spokesman said it was waiting for expressions of interest in the sale of the land.

It will most likely be used for industrial purposes.

Tenants at the airport said they had strong safety concerns for inexperienced pilots, especially, flying in the area now that the airport was closed.

Martin Waterhouse, a frequent user of the airport, said: ``Now there won't be a north-south runway for pilots to make a safe landing on during strong

southerly winds.

``The closest one will be at Mascot Airport, which would be a very dangerous place for an inexperienced pilot to land.

``The Sydney Basin is one of the busiest aviation areas in the world and we only had three general aviation airports and now they've shut one of them down, the other two will be severely overstretched.''

A spokesman for the federal Department of Infrastructure said aviation needs were met by Camden and Bankstown airports.

``The capacity of these two airports exceeds forecast traffic demand, including those aircraft movements that will be displaced by the closure of the Hoxton Park airport,'' the spokesman said.

``The lack of a north-south runway in the area is not seen as a risk by the Government.

``This is based on the advice of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, who says that pilots will have to manage this issue through appropriate flight planning and review of weather forecasts.''

Tenants were offered similar buildings at Camden and Bankstown airports and compensation, both of which the majority of them accepted.