Originally Posted by
aviationflyer16
This is interesting. I suppose the question should be whether the reduction has become normalised? Anyone got some NOTAMs to share that reflect this? Keen to learn a little bit more about this.
NOTAMS may have been issued at the time the airports were downgraded from Category 10 to Category 9, but the reduced category is now published in the En-Route Supplement Australia (ERSA), suggesting the changes are more or less 'permanent'. BNE and PER were downgraded following a Senate Inquiry in 2019,
before the pandemic. They were downgraded because AirServices could not
guarantee Category 10 cover if a fire vehicle had already been called to a 'domestic' incident (eg a terminal fire). I don't know the background or timing of the downgrade at MEL; the ASA website still shows MEL as Category 10, but ERSA shows Category 9 (see below, under Rescue and Firefighting Services):
ERSA (FAC) - BNE
ERSA (FAC) - MEL
ERSA (FAC) - PER
More info on the 2019 Senate inquiry is available here:
The provision of rescue, firefighting and emergency response at Australian airports