I don’t see how Airservices has any choice but to retain responsibility for delivery. It can discharge that responsibility by arranging for someone else to deliver, but Airservices can’t alter the fact that Australian-administered airspace includes the airspace over the external territories including Norfolk Island.
It’s interesting to read, again, the Norfolk Island forecasting safety deficiency raised by the ATSB in 2000, and BOM’s response.
Recommendation issued to: Bureau Of Meteorology
Output No: R20000040
Date Issue: 22 February 2000
SUBJECT - RELIABILITY OF NORFOLK ISLAND FORECASTS
SAFETY DEFICIENCY
The meteorological forecasts for Norfolk Island are not sufficiently reliable on some occasions to prevent pilots having to carry out unplanned diversions or holding.
FACTUAL INFORMATION
Related Occurrences
During the period 1 January 1998 to 31 March 1999, occurrences involving unforecast or rapidly changing conditions at Norfolk Island reported to the Bureau included the following:
[4 occurrences are described. ]
…
A pilot flying an aircraft that arrives at a destination without alternate or holding fuel and then finds that the weather is below landing and alternate minima is potentially in a hazardous situation. The options available are:
1. to hold until the weather improves; however, the fuel may be exhausted before the conditions improve sufficiently to enable a safe landing to be made;
2. to ditch or force-land the aircraft away from the aerodrome in a area of improved weather conditions, if one exists; or
3. attempt to land in poor weather conditions.
SAFETY ACTION
As a result of these occurrences, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has commenced a project to review the fuel requirements for flights to remote islands. [Don’t tell me: CASA “expects” that review to be completed “soon”.]
Initial Response
Date Issued: 27 April 2000
Response from: Bureau Of Meteorology
Response Status: Closed – Accepted
…
As you are aware, the Bureau commits significant resources to maintaining its observing program at Norfolk Island. While the primary purpose of those observations is to support the overall large-scale monitoring and modelling of meteorological conditions in the Western Pacific, and the operation of the observing station is funded by the Bureau on that basis, it is staffed by highly trained observers with long experience in support of aviation. As far as is possible with available staff numbers, the observers are rostered to cover arrivals of regular flights and rosters are adjusted to cover the arrival of notified delayed flights.
The Norfolk Island Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) is produced by experienced professional meteorologists located in the Bureau's New South Wales Regional Forecasting Centre in Sydney. The terminal forecast provides predictions of wind, visibility, cloud amount and base height and weather routinely every six hours. Weather conditions are continuously monitored and the terminal forecast is amended as necessary in line with air safety requirements. The forecasters have full access to all the Bureau's synoptic meteorological data for the region and guidance material from both Australian and overseas prediction models. As part of the forecasting process, they continuously monitor all available information from the region including the observational data from Norfolk Island itself. When consideration of the latest observational data in the context of the overall meteorological situations suggests the need to modify the terminal forecast, amendments are issued as quickly as possible.
…
To increase the responsiveness of the terminal forecasts to changes in conditions at Norfolk Island, the Bureau has issued instructions to observing staff to ensure forecasters at the Sydney RFC are notified directly by telephone of any discrepancies between the current forecast and actual conditions. This arrangement will increase the responsiveness of the system particularly during periods of fluctuating conditions. In addition the Bureau has provided the aerodrome manager with access to a display of the latest observations to ensure the most up to date information is relayed to aircraft.
…
Are there any observers left on Norfolk ?
Does the aerodrome manager still have “access to a display of the latest observations”?
What is/was the actual mechanism to “ensure the most up to date information is relayed to aircraft”?