Green light to break airport curfew - Moore-Wilton attacks Albanese
SYDNEY Airport chief Max Moore-Wilton has attacked Transport Minister Anthony Albanese, claiming Virgin Australia was given special treatment to land 10 flights after curfew because they were carrying politicians.
Mr Moore-Wilton also accused Mr Albanese of having a "massive conflict" of interest in managing the airport - and said he had encouraged international airlines to avoid Sydney.
Mr Moore-Wilton told the CAPA Pacific aviation conference in Sydney yesterday that he was surprised Mr Albanese's representative had given the green light on Tuesday night for the Virgin flights to land after curfew - if necessary.
It came after Virgin's recently upgraded booking system failed, throwing its flights into chaos.
"The minister's office - you could have knocked me over with a feather - allowed 10 flights after the curfew between 11pm and 11.30pm the other night so the system wouldn't come down," Mr Moore-Wilton told the televised conference. "I suspect there were a few politicians on those planes."
Mr Albanese last night said no Virgin flights had operated during the curfew on Tuesday.
"Mr Moore-Wilton should back up his hysterical claim that curfew dispensations were granted for politicians to breach the curfew," he said.
"Mr Moore-Wilton should find out the facts of what happens at his airport before making hysterical claims."
It is understood the airline was granted dispensation for four flights to land over water but none was used.
Documents show Mr Albanese's representative rarely approves requests to take off or land at Sydney after the curfew - even if flights have been delayed by bad weather and hundreds of passengers risk being severely disrupted.
Only eight approvals have been granted this year, according to documents tabled in federal parliament.
Mr Moore-Wilton said Mr Albanese had a "massive conflict of interest" as Transport Minister and MP for Grayndler, which is under the flight path: "Really he is the minister for no noise over Marrickville. He'll never spend a dollar on Sydney Airport because the No Aircraft Noise Party and the Greens will tear him limb from limb."
Mr Albanese is known in the airline industry for micro-managing Sydney air traffic to ensure aircraft noise does not become a political issue in his electorate of Grayndler. Airport chiefs say that means Australia's biggest airport cannot be run as efficiently as possible.
Mr Moore-Wilton also revealed Mr Albanese wrote to Qatari authorities advising them to look at flying to destinations other than Sydney. "I thought that was fantastic advice," he said.
Last year Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said he can't schedule flights to Sydney because of the curfew.
"Qatar Airways made its position clear in the pages of The Daily Telegraph, which was the first I had heard of it," Mr Albanese said.
But
The Daily Telegraph can confirm Mr Albanese wrote to the Chairman of the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority on June 19 this year, highlighting Sydney airport's curfew.
"In the meantime I note the existing commercial entitlement settled in 2009 includes unrestricted access to all airports in Australia other than the four major Australian gateway cities," the letter says.
Mr Moore-Wilton also said capacity at Sydney Airport could be freed up by moving general aviation - including VIP government flights- to Richmond: "We could move general aviation and the Prime Minister's flights and Mr Albanese's flights out to Richmond - they wouldn't go there."