Originally Posted by
BuzzBox
Neville,
It's about airport demand management.
Perhaps so, but the airport IS responsible for providing the movement areas, parking areas and passenger handling facilities. Smaller airports such as Canberra have limited space and can't accept too many international diversions. Diversion agreements help the airport to manage the efficient use of its facilities by limiting the number of large aircraft that might turn up with little notice.
It matters because the airport's scheduled flights can't move if the airport becomes clogged with diverted aircraft.
Actually, I agree with Neville - this is a load of crap and probably a way for the airport to extract some sort of benefit - even if they did have a 'diversion agreement' in place, diversions are unscheduled... and may never happen. It's complete rubbish to say it's 'demand management' - you think the airport is going to keep an aerobridge available and extra equipment 'just in case' there's a diversion???
These rogues that are running airports are off the planet - I'm pretty damn sure there is a requirement for an airport to provide facilities for an emergency diversion - they can't 'refuse' to allow a flight in trouble to land - they also can't park equipment behind the aircraft, which presumably might have concerned/traumatized passengers on board, while demanding some sort of inflated charge. Learmonth is an RAAF Base and they have accommodated at least two A330s (one QF and one MH) after inflight incidents. This is just a load of tripe - they're an airport, the reason they have been issued a license to operate is on the basis they meet CASA requirements and I'm pretty sure ICAO - and ICAO would require handling or accommodation of an aircraft in distress. Anything else is some sort of weasel word BS designed to fleece the passenger, the airline and anyone else they can out of greed.
These damn places are public facilities, like roads and rail - they should not be privately owned or operated, they should be provided by the Contracting State based on demand. Total nonsense.