Before I lose those with a short attention span
IT IS ABOUT RUNWAY CAPACITY
You can believe whatever you like but if you don’t change runway capacity the level of delays will continue.
Runway capacity is determined by a bundle of things. Normally in visual conditions runway 21 and 24 for arrivals the arrival rate is set at 26 per hour. This reduces to 20 an hour for EIA for most runway combinations. There are other rates depending on runway configuration. Currently the arrival rate is 18 per hour in all conditions because of the works limiting taxiway availability. I have heard that works will limit arrival rates until at least December 2012.
The Flow at Perth applies priorities as per AIP which effectively means next in line gets the next landing time. There are no agreed rules about delaying an aircraft to the NOC delivered time. If pilots want aircraft delayed until their NOC time you (yes you) will have to organise those business rules with Airservices and the other operators. While you are there you may come up with a rule for those that are late.
When the new CDM system comes in the Flow can delay a non-compliant aircraft, up until the promulgated holding. So even with the new rules a pilot who disregards a NOC time may still push into the queue. These are the incoming agreed business rules.
The idea that the lack of ADSB due aircraft equipment outside radar coverage is I believe a furphy introduced by WAC to take some of the heat off them. The radar sectors outside 36nm Perth accept out bound aircraft at the radar standard (5nm) so no ADSB problem there. The departures controller releases aircraft in the morning push as fast as the tower can launch them. This part of the process is especially efficient if successive aircraft are on different SIDs, so no ADSB delay there. Inbound I expect the controllers trying to get aircraft in the air out of Tom Price etc would love to have more aircraft fitted with ADSB, but getting more aircraft airborne quicker here will lead to more airborne holding.
Therefore the ways to reduce airborne holding is to increase the runway capacity, this is build more runways; or reduce the number of aircraft, that is use bigger ones; or spread out the traffic to the runway capacity. Places such as have a similar single runway capacity to Perth. High speed taxiways help with runway occupancy but most of the benefit is getting departures away between successive arrivals. The parallel taxiways at Perth I understand are too close to the runways to allow for high speed taxiways.
So what can be done?
The blame shifting needs to end and the weakest point or the point most able to give a real increase in capacity needs to be addressed. This solution also probably has the longest introduction time frame which is why progress should start now. I have a long handled shovel and am willing to help. Maybe WAC could organise a good old fashioned busy bee.
What will happen?
I expect the blame shifting will continue. Which will mean calls to 8620 by pilots wanting to whinge to someone and with what ATC can do to answer your problems you may as well ring your mum. I expect some of the world’s best pilots like Jim Shoos will post in places that I’m one of the worst ATCs in Australia. I’ve had thirty years of the best telling me I’m the worst so I’ve made up a badge.
And pilots will continue to disregard one of the things introduced to reduce holding and as there are more planes everyday holding will get longer and longer. I trust you all have a plan as to where you are going to land when the weather turns bad or there is a disabled aircraft at Perth and places like Pearce are not available due works.