Airlines urge infrastructure upgrades
In a report in The Australian, Qantas and Virgin Blue appear to have joined forces, urging the Rudd Government to tackle infrastructure problems hampering air travel as part of its wide-ranging review of the aviation industry.
Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey and Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti singled out the struggle of existing aviation infrastructure, such as airports and air-traffic control facilities, to keep up with growth as an issue requiring national attention.
“Aviation infrastructure is lagging behind national requirements, simply because aviation demand has grown much faster than anyone predicted” Mr Borghetti said yesterday.
Mr Borghetti singled out Perth and Sydney as trouble spots. He said passenger numbers at Sydney airport had risen 50 per cent over the past 10 years and that Sydney airport’s future needs would exceed its capacity.
“Given the long lead times to identify, plan and develop sites, Qantas believes that consideration must turn as soon as possible to meeting the needs of the growing numbers of passengers in the Sydney basin,” he said.
Infrastructure is one of a slew of topics raised in an issues paper released yesterday as the Government heads towards finalising a white paper on aviation by the middle of next year.
Other issues range from international and domestic services to regional and general aviation, the industry’s skills needs and air traffic management. It also looks at safety and regulatory reform, climate change, consumer protection and security.
Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the idea for the biggest review of Australian aviation had emanated from Kevin Rudd. “He said what you need is a white-paper, green-paper process and this is a direct result of those discussions with the PM,” Mr Albanese told a national aviation summit in Melbourne.
“There unfortunately hasn’t been a national aviation policy for at least a decade. Indeed, I found it extraordinary that no Australian government has produced an aviation white paper. The Rudd Government will change that.”
Mr Albanese gave examples of 13 issues challenging the aviation industry, including using “new satellite technology” to plan flight routes better, potentially saving flight time, reducing emissions and improving safety. The shortage of pilots, aircraft engineers and air-traffic controllers would also be addressed.
“In recent months, both Qantaslink and Rex have closed down some regional routes because of the shortage of pilots,” Mr Albanese said.
“Aviation activity is predicted to double by 2020, but our airlines are cancelling services because they can’t get pilots.”
A Report by The Mole from The Australian
John Alwyn-Jones
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