Queensland Airports to be sold

[Islander Jock]

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,23542158-31037,00.html

Stand by for more grief and misery as developers climb over each other for a piece of the action:mad:

[Di_Vosh]

Selling off one part of our infrastructure to pay for another...:ugh:

[feetonthedash]

Thank God CNS is being sold off.
At last we may see some expansion of facilities and the two hard basket thrown out.

[Queenslander]

Lets kill aviation in Queensland.

How much will landing fees be when the new owners take over, another Archerfield I think, HUGE fees and costs :yuk:

[Flying Binghi]

Isnt Premier Anna Bligh pushing for another international airport in QLD? ...read it somewhere.

[PyroTek]

geez Anna, what next?

[Mick.B]

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2008/04/15/3120_local-news.html

Will be interesting.

[SideSaddle]

Maybe the western side of the airport can finally get the attention it deserves.

[flypilotboy]

:ugh:Why are governments in Australia (state and federal) so keen to shaft GA. I suggest that you all make your point to the local MP for Cairns who happens to be the minister for regional development.:mad:

[Flyingblind]

Bloody hell,

these clowns just don't get it, short term gains and bugger the long term view, yes i know modern Hospitals are required for our growing population and we all need them at sometime or other.

BUT. IMHO all hospital funding and staffing should be a Federal Government responsibility, those buggers are awash with our tax dollars (care of a certain old man now out of office who dramatically cut funding) piXX off these State clowns and get serious about the long term viability of GA in this country and let the state pollies worry about which developer is going to fund their retirement.

Hospitals and Airports are a part of this country's national infrastructure and should be treated as such.

God knows what those pirates from XXX Bank would do to Cairns if they got hold of it.

Perhaps Cairns Airport will become a better place to commit aviation after the sale/renovation/price increases/return on investment etc.....not holding my breath though.


Sorry guys............rant mode off.

[Stationair8]

Western side of Cairns airport could be converted into a shopping mall, DFO, housing estate, warehouse's etc.

GA get rid of that those small planes they are only for the filthy rich.

Behind CASA the most dangerous thing in aviation is the property developers and local councils.

Remember the good old FAC led by Mr Bill Swingler and co and some of their great ideas including their rental rates being worked out on Sydney CBD prices, gee that did a lot to promote GA.

[Chimbu chuckles]

Treasurer Andrew Fraser said the assets had a book value of around $800 million.

"We expect that the private sector will pay well above that value to secure the chance to invest in Queensland's future prospects," he said.

You think?

Are we not presently watching the results of investment banks paying more for things than they were worth? Has Fraser not heard of the international credit crunch?

Mates based in Cairns tell me the new international terminal, paid for with taxpayer money, is severely under utilised because the high ozzie $ is having an adverse effect on tourism inflows from Asia and, no doubt, sub prime/interest rate/recession worries are effecting international travel plans generally...or will soon.

Could this be the real reason Cairns is for sale?

Could they be in for a nasty surprise when it comes to marketing these tax payer funded assets.

You'd could be forgiven for believing the Qld Labor Govt are not paying attention to the world around them.

[cocoair]

Oh dear when will these guys learn. Haven't they sold off enough of OUR assets to their greedy mates. Airports have been developed and paid for for by the taxpayers of Australia. They are not the pollies to sell.

[Ultralights]

my bet is on Macquarie bank, and a massive increase in costs to be passed onto the pax. GA wont last long there.

[Krakatoa]

Maybe now Cairns will be able to attract a real international airline that offers a direct north west route to the rest of the world without being obliged to subsidize Darwin airport

[Torres]

Bill Swindler and the FAC had no option - their mandate was to recover the Australian airport capital costs, before the Government "sold" the airports again to private enterprise. But wait - the airports were not sold, only leased to private enterprise, albeit on very long term leases, enabling some future Government to again "sell" them off.

I wonder at the future of Cairns airport; the future of city center airports around the world looks bleak. A smarter option may be land recovery in the bay off CS airport or a new airport on the Tablelands, with high speed rail link.

Whilst other countries make long term investment in their transport, water, health and education infrastructure, it has been decades since any Australian government made a significant infrastructure investment which wasn't completed within the same parliamentary term.

[Capt Claret]

Hey Torres, NIMBY!

High speed rail link, and Kuranda or Gillies range seem mutually exclusive.
'Sides, I like the drive up through the pristine bush. :}

[BurglarsDog]

Wasnt Cairns once based in Townsville? So to speak. (Discuss please)

Could International flights operate from Townsville once again? After all its only an extra 300 km track distance to points North and North West , and youve got a captive qualified staff (literally) no union, extendable hours, and everyone in ATC (at least) doing as directed?

Just need a permanent customs and a couple of doggies for the odd sniff test and youve got yourself an International airport again.

Not sure about TODAs, ASDA s etc for the heavies, or a TMP / flow for that matter, but hey, flexibility is the key to airpower ! Right?

Damm this potato rum. Bring on the Bundy.......... all is forgiven!!

DogGone:ok:

[Capt Claret]

I'm a little confused as to why CNS needs to be sold off to get international operators back in? It is an INTL airport, I wouldn't have through owner would make that much difference. :confused:

[teresa green]

welcome to the $16 half hour car parks:mad:

[P51D]

Well said Torres. Stationair8 you clearly have no idea of the background. The FAC was restricted on what return it could get and capped it's charges at GA airports and from memory only a couple were profitable. The FAC pales into insignificance when comparing their charges with the modern day vultures at capital city and GA airports, many of whom are more focussed on property development (they don't need to comply with State planning laws) at the expense of airport infrastructure and aren't the Commonwealth doin a great job oversighting it all. Private airports are wild in the paddock mate!
Cairns has been funded by the QLD taxpayer for years and if one thinks it will return to being an international dynamo..... tell em they're dreamin!!! BTW, Bill Swingler was a good operator but the FAC had a limited life - what you've got now ain't gonna get any better.

[Tropicalchief]

Last year, the Cairns Port Authority made a $50 million dollar profit, due mainly to its airport operation. The current renovations to the domestic terminal is being funded by a federal grant given by the former Howard government, $200million.

I agree with the comment that the international terminal is vastly under utilised as only two major carriers use the airport on a daily basis. I can also recall a survey in the past couple of years that ranked Cairns as the second most expensive airport in the world from which to operate. CX and QF to HKG and NRT respectively.

If the new owners do to CNS what has been done to SYD and BNE the homeless problem in CNS will be solved because no-one will fly there.