AaaaaHHH!!
The wonderful world of SOPs, CASA style.
One salient point hardly mentioned,
I raised the Caper decision and told him that he would shut down every scenic operator in the country. McCormack sat in my office and told me to apply for an RPT AOC.
but CASA just doesn't care how much it all costs, or if major tourist operations, important tourist attractions, cease to exist, or how many people lose their jobs, and not just in the operators, but all those in support roles on the ground, in the surrounding towns etc.,otherwise they would not have reversed long standing interpretations of CAR 206, and spent who knows how much in the AAT (where they lost) and in the Federal court to appeal the loss in the AAT, to enforce the new "policy".
And, of course, no safety issue, just a new "preferred interpretation", and one that was never intended in the original drafting.
One of the reasons CAR 206 has always been such a dog's breakfast, is that this is another "unintended consequence" of the transition, years ago, from ANRs/ANOs to CARs/CAOs, and incomplete "regulatory reform". CAR 206 was produced, but other complimentary legislation, that made it clear that such things as sightseeing trips and tourist charters, and mail runs, all these small operations that operate regularly, were not scheduled airlines, and were not RPT operations.
At the time, (Toller era) that CASA decided, after many years to the contrary, that remote area mail runs were "RPT", the mail runs had been running for about fifteen years, before "somebody" in CASA decided they were all "illegal" and a whole bunch of show cause paper work landed on operator's desks.
Again, all nothing to do with air safety, just more bastard bureaucracy throwing their weight around --- why?? --- because they can.
------ and told me to apply for an RPT AOC
I wouldn't be surprised ( based on some Senate hearings, the AMROBA Brisbane meeting etc.), if Mr. McCormick doesn't have a clue about the costs of such an application, let alone the ongoing costs of meeting the vastly increased overheads.
Tootle pip!!