Cheaper Than Nightstops?

[B A Lert]

From the ABC NEWS

Airline fined for breaching airport curfew


Gulf Air has been fined about $167,000 for breaching the evening curfew at Sydney airport.

Planes are not allowed to depart the airport after 11:00pm, under a rule that aims to keep noise levels down for nearby residents.

Gulf Air committed two breaches in 2005.

The second instance was after an application to waive the curfew was refused.

Central Local Court yesterday ordered the Middle East-based airline to pay around $167,000

The amount of these fines are miniscule if airlines are to be actively discouraged from recklessly infringing the curfew. We all know the real cost of a ten or twelve hour delay and in the case of a long-hauler like Gulf, it's a lot more than $83,500 a pop. The punters will say 'great' but the smarties at the airline will be congratulating themselves at making such a wise financial decision, and retain lots of SLF goodwill.

If the curfew is to be enforced, and if punitive measures are to be imposed for unauthorised infringement, then let the penalties be sufficiently punative for infringement - like at least half a million big ones per offence. Time for the pollies and bureaucrats to get real.

I think I'm dreaming.

[simsalabim]

Switch the runway lights off at 2300 ? Wouldn't that slow them down ?

[B A Lert]

Maybe, but what about the many legitimate users during the curfew hours?

[Peter Fanelli]

Switch the runway lights off at 2300 ? Wouldn't that slow them down ?


Didn't seem to have any effect on Comair at Lexington. :hmm:

[Keg]

Didn't Thai try this on a couple of years ago? I'm sure it was the same deal....cheaper to take the fine and blast off than to overnight the punters. In the aftermath of that I recall that they were going to raise the fines at the airport for taking off after curfew to something like $1 million or more. Looks like that got put in the too hard basket! :eek:

[Wod]

I don't think it gets to Head Office. So punitive doesn't do it.

Captain and Station Manager are gut-busting to load her up and get her out as soon as the frou-frou valve is fixed.

The margins, typically, are not more than 15 minutes and one of them says go for it, we'll sort the paperwork out later.

The carriers don't want to break the law. Someone might threaten their slots.

Now in the good old days you could ring the minister at 2000 and say "Your daughter's flight was delayed in a very hot and uncomfortable Middle Eastern place for 6 hours and would land in SYD at 0130 were it not for the curfew"

But times have changed.

[SM4 Pirate]

I'm pretty sure the "fines" were increased in 2005 as a result of these events; but the fines in place at the time were the fines to be paid.

[Ron & Edna Johns]

Sounds like GWB has only just made it into SYD before curfew tonight.....

Now THAT would've been interesting. Imagine Air Force 1 showing an ETA of 2301. "Sorry Sir, GO AROUND!"

:}

[socks and thongs]

Remember that dick who was clearing traffic to land with his transceiver recently? Where was he last night? Could have made for some interesting times with AF1 and dubya.

"Airforce one, the wind at the 34 left threshold is three two zero degrees at one zero knots, runway 34 left, go around again"

[Jabawocky]

"Airforce one, the wind at the 34 left threshold is three two zero degrees at one zero knots, runway 34 left, go around again"

Even funnier ...... it was something more like wind 140 @ 20+kts:eek: at 9pm when I departed 16L.

[Dark Knight]

Why is there still a curfew at the leading airport within the nation?

Isn't far past the time the curfew was dispensed with particularly with the airlines and particularly, the aircraft manufacturers having spent hundreds of millions of dollars reducing the noise emissions from aircraft?

Why is there not another airport free of curfews and other restrictions to cater for the citizens of our largest city let alone other users from within the country and visitors forma around the world?

DK

[capt.cynical]

D.K.
No government in the last 50 years has had the "balls" to tackle the problem.:confused::ugh::ugh::ugh:

[Lord Flashhart]

Laws are only there for those who can't afford to pay the fines.

:}

[SM4 Pirate]

Why is there still a curfew at the leading airport within the nation?

Isn't far past the time the curfew was dispensed with particularly with the airlines and particularly, the aircraft manufacturers having spent hundreds of millions of dollars reducing the noise emissions from aircraft?

Why is there not another airport free of curfews and other restrictions to cater for the citizens of our largest city let alone other users from within the country and visitors forma around the world? For the same reason that we have LTOP/Noise sharing/movement caps and the reason that 16L/34R was built smaller than a truly functional parallel runway; politics!