proposal for new freight-only airport near Murray Bridge
Not sure how Wellcamp freight is going either. Supposed to run weekly on Tuesdays but there have only been 3 flights this year, nothing for the past 2 weeks, although the aircraft has still operated to both SYD and MEL every week.
Join Date: Jun 2003
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The problem for any remote airport and by that I mean away from main cities is the standing costs. Apart from the built structure there is a fuel farm and distribution system (even if that is just tankers), engineering equipment (both servicing and greater), cargo handling, stairs for access and specialised staff. This is on site for 365 days of the year. Asset wise, for handling large aircraft, we are talking millions for use 2 or 3 hours per week. The temptation would be to use cheaper very used gear but that throws up reliability and schedule issues. It gets worse when you throw in casual staff and the temptation to cutback on maintenance due to costs
While it is possible to contract some of the staffing, people like load masters and LAMEs wont work part time away from a city and FIFO isn't really an option either.
It is very hard to justify all this for 2 or 3 flights per week but without it there can be no reliable service. Clearly initially the loss will be tolerated but it may take years to even get to break even so in our instant return on investment era I cant see it
Wunwing
I'm trying to think of any cargo only airports that I have seen or heard for international freight. The only ones that come to mind are domestic US which are bases for outfits like FedEx and UPs etc and virtually all of those were hand me downs from the USAF so no real initial setup costs for buildings , fuel, runways and taxi ways.
While it is possible to contract some of the staffing, people like load masters and LAMEs wont work part time away from a city and FIFO isn't really an option either.
It is very hard to justify all this for 2 or 3 flights per week but without it there can be no reliable service. Clearly initially the loss will be tolerated but it may take years to even get to break even so in our instant return on investment era I cant see it
Wunwing
I'm trying to think of any cargo only airports that I have seen or heard for international freight. The only ones that come to mind are domestic US which are bases for outfits like FedEx and UPs etc and virtually all of those were hand me downs from the USAF so no real initial setup costs for buildings , fuel, runways and taxi ways.
The Shepparton Council is planning a new airport for future domestic flights as the current airport is too small. Interestingly, they are planning a runway long enough to cater for large jets for direct flights to China. I imagine this would need to be in the order of 3000m. This seems feasible as the region is growing rapidly and has already passed 120,000 people within 40km.
Alternatively, Mangalore already has a 2000m x 50m runway which wouldn't take much to extend to 3000m, though it would have to be completely redone given that it is only PCN 6.
It seems that 4000nm with a 50 ton payload would be right at the range limit for a 767-300...........is this correct?
Alternatively, Mangalore already has a 2000m x 50m runway which wouldn't take much to extend to 3000m, though it would have to be completely redone given that it is only PCN 6.
It seems that 4000nm with a 50 ton payload would be right at the range limit for a 767-300...........is this correct?
Thread Starter
thanks for the informed comments; it makes you wonder about the SA Liberal party, whether they consulted anyone at all before the come up with this white elephant idea.
