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Old 5th Aug 2021, 02:04
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Geoff Fairless
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Australia
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FPDO - Thank you for asking, the answer is in two parts, although both involve the CASA OAR:

First I noticed while working for CASA that OAR had very little expertise in airspace matters and tended consistently to favour the status quo. This led them to continue to turn a blind eye to airspace designations that they had no power to authorise. One of those was the declaration of Restricted Airspace outside of Australian 12 NM territorial waters, another is the Oakey so-called "Military Control Zone".

Secondly, it became apparent during my own work at CASA, how inefficient the airspace was when large volumes of military Restricted Areas are superimposed on airspace that might otherwise be available for commercial and private use. This was exacerbated by a military organisation that treated the R Areas as belonging to them, as opposed to being a national asset that was active when needed and inactive when not (flexible use of airspace).

There are remedies for both of these issues that should not inhibit the valuable work of our defence forces. However, they involve a change of mindset, more flexibility on the part of the military, and some expenditure on ATC equipment to keep the airspace acceptably safe. You only have to look to the US and Europe to see how it could be done.


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