Oban Council Press Release
COUNCIL FORCED TO ACT OVER AIRPORT
Argyll and Bute Council is seeking legal advice in relation to one of its tenants at Oban Airport.
The move comes after Argyll Aero Club, which leases a site at the airport for a hangar, erected a fence which cuts into the safety area around a runway which is referred to as the ‘runway strip’.
The result is that the normal useable runway has been reduced in length by roughly a third and larger fixed wing aircraft, including the fixed wing Air Ambulance, can no longer land at Oban Airport.
Despite three letters outlining how the fence impinges on the airport’s operations and requesting that it be taken down, Argyll Aero Club has so far refused to remove it.
Other methods of delineating the leased ground area which comply with the requirements in this safety areawould not cause any problem.
The Council is currently seeking legal advice on what options are now open to it.
Council Leader Councillor Dick Walsh called the situation “totally unacceptable”.
“We are not disputing that our tenant, Argyll Aero Club, has a legal right to delineate the area it has leased, but the way in which it has chosen to mark it has extremely serious consequences for the operation of the airport,” he said.
“We have spelled out these consequences very clearly to the Club on several occasions, but it continues to refuse to remove the fence. We are therefore left with little option.
“I find it remarkable that anyone could knowingly act in a way which results in such an essential public service as the Air Ambulance aeroplane being no longer able to use the local airport.”
In the past week, the airport has had to turn down two requests for the King Air Air Ambulance to land. However, Councillor Walsh stressed that the issue was not just about the Air Ambulance.
“This situation has much wider consequences for the airport and the local economy,” he added.
“We already have, for instance, two Learjets provisionally booked to use the airport next month, carrying visitors who want to spend their holiday in Argyll and Bute. As the situation stands at the moment we will have to turn these aircraft – and these people – away.
“This is a totally unacceptable situation, and one which we obviously need to act on as soon as possible. It is very disappointing to have to resort to the legal route, but it seems that is now the only option.”
The ‘runway strip’ is an 80 metre wide strip of land, stretching 40 metres each side of the runway’s centre line.
This ‘strip’ is placed around a runway to ensure that if an aircraft leaves the paved area it will suffer no further significant damage. Therefore, it protects an aircraft and its passengers from coming to any harm.
In order to operate the airport safely, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules stipulate that this strip has to be maintained in a condition suitable to allow an aircraft, if necessary, to leave the paved area onto the grass in the event of an emergency. Outside of these protected areas, there are slopes that no obstacle is allowed to penetrate in order to ensure the safety of an aircraft and its occupants in the event of a missed approach.
The CAA requirements are quite clear and all licensed airports must adhere to these regulations. Oban Airport is no exception.
As the fence erected by Argyll Aero Club encroaches into that strip of land, the runway length has had to be shortened. Larger aircraft which require the runway’s full length, such as the King Air Air Ambulance, can no longer use the airport.
The Council has informed the CAA of the situation.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Oban Airport is registered as having two runways – Runway 01 (taking off due North) and Runway 19 (taking off due South).
The take-off run available on Runway 01 before the erection of the fence was 1064 metres, and the available landing distance 1110 metres. Those figures are now 702 metres and 782 metres respectively.
The take-off run available on Runway 19 before the erection of the fence was 1141 metres, and the available landing distance 993 metres. Those figures are now 842 metres and 642 metres respectively.
The King Air Air Ambulance requires a strip of at least 850 metres to land.
ENDS