Airservices takes on airport delays

A report in The Australian says that aircraft delays at Australia’s three biggest airports are costing more than $70 million a year and creating 180 million kilograms of excess carbon dioxide, the equivalent of the CO2 emissions created by 40,000 motor vehicles in a year.

The sobering figures have prompted Airservices Australia to call for the formation of a special capacity-delay forum comprising airlines, airports and the air navigator.

Airservices air traffic control general manager Ken McLean will tell the Waypoint 2007 forum in Canberra today that his organisation has discussed the proposal with several key players and received general support.

In an advance copy of his speech provided to The Australian, Mr McLean warns that the industry needs to share a sense of urgency in making big changes to improve efficiency.

He says drivers for change in the industry are broader and more aggressive than at any time he can recall.

Traffic levels are expected to double in the next 20 years as increased operating costs, difficulties in sourcing staff and new measures to address environmental performance apply further pressure to bottom lines.

He notes that this is in the context of increased competition, generating pressure on existing and new city-pairs as well as air traffic control services at the busiest hubs.

“Our response to these drivers is to challenge ourselves, to change the manner in which we operate and the manner in which we provide our services to you,” Mr McLean says.

The Airservices executive says the air navigation provider has been restructuring its business to align its services to the upper airspace, east coast and regional environments.

He also reveals it is now commissioning a national operations centre in Canberra that, for the first time, will take an overview of the nation’s traffic flow, looking at issues and possible improvements.

The centre is not yet fully established but will run all central traffic management systems and a program to optimise traffic flow in Sydney.

It is envisaged that within five years, the centre will oversee airtraffic management operational command and control for all aspects of Airservices’ operations.

“The national operations centre will provide a national platform for the delivery of future traffic management services and provide a central focus for the optimisation of traffic management,” Mr McLean says.

“In short, the centre will provide air traffic management stakeholders with direct access to a centralised unit managing the demands and contingencies of the national airways system.”

Looking at moves to improve efficiency, Mr McLean says the rollout of Flexitrack, which allows airlines to pick the optimum route to take advantage of factors such as winds, is continuing.

Airservices is also working on making gate-to-gate operations more efficient in collaboration with airlines and on a location-by-location basis.

The air traffic controller is not yet at the stage of delivering fuel-saving user-preferred routes across the board, but the process is well under way.

Infrastructure upgrades to the system include a $694 million capital works program for the next five years that will see new control towers in Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and Rockhampton as well as upgrades at others and a world-class digital telecommunications network.

Other upgrades range from the introduction of automatic dependent surveillance broadcast in high-level airspace to replacing terminal area radars and ageing en-route and non-precision approach navigational aides.

Report by The Mole