FAIRFAX LOCAL NEWS. RAAF to extend ATC at YWLM
This little snipet showed up this morning.
DEFENCE-operated air traffic control services at Newcastle Airport will be extended to include weekends, holidays and the Defence Christmas break, under changes planned by the Chief of Air Force.
Under the plans, the RAAF would increase its staff to enable it to provide its air traffic control service 16 hours a day, seven days, throughout the year.
A Defence spokeswoman said extension of the service was the main recommendation of the recent confidential RAAF review of Williamtown air traffic control arrangements.
Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Mark Binskin has endorsed the move and the Federal Government has been advised of his intention to seek the necessary extra resources.
The expense has not been determined. The cost of any services provided beyond the military's needs would be passed on to the airport, which would in turn pass it on to the industry.
But the changes are not expected to be ready before late 2010, missing the next month-long defence operational standby at the end of the year.
Aviator Dick Smith criticised the time line and said the changes should be implemented immediately.
"If a report has found the full [air traffic control] service is needed, then it is needed now," Mr Smith, a former chief of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, said.
Defence said it would have to recruit and train the extra air traffic controllers and technicians.
Last year, representatives told the Civil Aviation Safety Authority that Defence was experiencing a shortage of controllers.
The RAAF provides an air traffic control service from 8am to 10pm Monday to Thursday and 8am to 4pm Friday. It operates a certified air ground radio service from 4pm to 10pm on Friday and 10am to 7pm on weekends and public holidays.
Under the changes, air traffic control would be provided from 6am to 10pm each day, including public holidays.
The spokeswoman said the changes would deliver certainty for the RAAF and the airport.
"Additionally, [Air Marshal Binskin] is positioning [the] air force for future requirements," she said.
The defence review followed Mr Smith's safety concerns about a proposal for the airport to operate without a radar display and air traffic controllers over the recent Christmas holidays while RAAF members were on leave.
The safety authority approved the plan for the airport to run its own radio service but Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon overturned the decision at the last minute and ordered the RAAF to supply the radio service to ensure public confidence.
Defence declined to release its review to The Herald, citing confidential information in it.
The spokeswoman said the review confirmed the safety authority's findings that a radio service, including those arrangements in place in the last RAAF operational standby, were safe.
Those arrangements would apply again during the standby this year, when it was likely the radar display would again undergo maintenance, she said.
Newcastle Airport aviation services manager Graham Giddey said the review was further proof the airport operated safely, despite Mr Smith's criticisms.
Mr Giddey said the changes would enhance services as the airport expanded.