Get with the Program ASA
Can anyone tell me on what regulatory basis or direction is Airservices Australia (as a Government-owned entity) permitted to undertake these trials?
Also, as a pilot that is paying aeronautical charges to ASA, I would rather see my aeronautical charges being used to improve the delivery and quality of current ATS services by encouraging the recruitment of more ATC staff, thus avoiding the shutdown of services as occurred in WA low level sectors recently. This would appear to me to be more of a priority than wasting money on a speculative Unicom service which can be provided more economically and responsively by a range of private sector arrangements at the local airport.
Are these trials as a result of an aeronautical study undertaken for each location under the direction of CASA, or is Airservices simply responding to an invitation by the respective aerodrome owners/operators (ie the Councils)? I think the pilot community is entitled to know how its aeronautical charges are being spent by ASA and what the eventual operational benefits are.
I think the limited financial resources that ASA appears to have would be far better spent in the areas that require funding priority.