From the ABC's AM:
Posted October 27, 2011 11:51:38
The fly-in, fly-out mining culture in Western Australia is being blamed for stretching the capacity of air services, with some routes predicted to double in volume in the next few years.
On any given day in Australia's north-west, airline lounges are full of young men in safety gear making their way to and from their east coast homes to Western Australia's mines.
The resources boom is already blamed for the lack of community spirit in many towns, but now Air Services Australia, which provides air traffic controllers to airports, says it is almost at capacity dealing with the sheer volume of flights.
It says some routes are predicted to double in volume in the next few years.
Air Services Australia chief executive Greg Russell says the explosion of fly-in, fly-out traffic between Perth and the state's north-west is already straining air traffic control systems.
He is calling for mining companies to more evenly spread out their rosters to help deal with the traffic spike on certain days.
"With respect to Perth Airport, the operations there in the mornings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are all built around the practices of the mining and resource companies," he said.
"What we're asking them to do is if possible can they help us spread that peak by changing some of the start times for their rosters."
"Overnight at Perth Airport at the moment there are 90 aeroplanes that are based and most of them want to leave in that first 90 minutes of the operational morning.
"It's creating, at the moment, long delays."
Mr Russell says the airport should be able to handle the demand if rostering spreads the peak onto more days.
"We're asking [miners] to have a look at this issue because it's creating such a peak in demand in the mornings that can be avoided and long congestion," he said.
"I don't think that's in anyone's interest in terms of the passengers on board the aircraft or in fact the mining and resource companies, or for that matter the airline industry and the charter operators."
Mr Russell says a change in rostering will not only help out Perth airport but all other flights flying into Western Australia's north-west.
"Smoothing that will help us manage the overall air traffic system in Western Australia," he said.
Mr Russell is also calling on airline operators to invest in new technology.
"We need to encourage more of the operators to equip their aircraft with satellite-based equipment, called ADSB," he said.
He says the equipment would allow traffic controllers to see aircraft much more precisely and be able to to handle a rise in air-travel demand.
It's a pity that Greg didn't mention the waste of fuel used in ground and air holding as one of the jusitfications for a re-schedule of mining rosters.
I'm not sure how ADSB would make a big difference to the current situation...