Bouquets, not brickbats

A clear example of this new culture is the recent high level regional aviation industry meeting chaired by the CASA CEO, John McCormick.

Discussions were frank and robust but everyone left the meeting feeling some real progress had been made. It is pleasing to know that the forum could become a regular event. East coast RPT routes aside, it is regional aviation that is exposing the workforce to the new economic possibilities of Australia’s far flung regions.

In addition, Airservices has senior officers dedicated to managing customer relations and the ATSB remains highly regarded in its objective analysis of accidents. This improvement in the quality of service to the industry must continue if the years of distrust, even hostility, are to be repaired.

New aviation policy is still struggling to get any sort of traction within cabinet. This will be an ongoing challenge for the industry and the Department of Infrastructure in the lead-up to the election. The PM regularly fails to mention aviation as part of the nation’s transport infrastructure. Even worse, aviation receives a pittance from government with respect to aviation infrastructure investment when compared to other transport modes.

If Australia is to be seen as more than the world’s quarry we need to further develop value-adding in technologically advanced industries such as aviation. Thousands of specialist aviation staff will be required worldwide in the next 10 years and Australia can develop the capability to train a large percentage of them. This increased training activity could earn large export dollars and return Australia to aviation’s first rank.

The one gaping hole in this modest industry improvement is the attitude of some airport owners to aircraft operators. Either through overcharging, unconscionable reversionary lease conditions or customer neglect, it seems some owners see their aviation customers as a necessary evil to be just tolerated, while more non-aviation building development is being planned.

How we arrived at this bizarre position is the result of government policy failure by both sides of politics and a light-handed regulatory regime that has encouraged the closure of many on-airport businesses. There are the first signs that the government is taking an increased interest in the latter issue, that is, airports should be primarily for aviation related activities, not new retail and business estates.

As we discussed last issue, it appears little thought has been given to the sometimes severe turbulence effects of these new buildings on aircraft handling.

A number of building generated turbulence incidents have now become the subject of a keenly anticipated ATSB report.

Australia is at an aviation crossroads and must decide what it does well, identify its niche markets and pursue them vigorously. We have probably missed the boat in terms of larger aircraft manufacturing but are doing well in sport/recreational/ training aircraft and light piston engine manufacture.

We have the finest natural flight training environment in the world, but are yet to fully exploit this advantage. We also provide safe, high quality fly-in/fly-out and regional aviation operations to and from remote locations. Our aircraft maintenance and simulator training standards are first class and Australia is a world leader in aeromedical retrieval and remote health services.

The emerging UAV market will also become an increasingly important one in both its civil and military guises.

There are still excellent opportunities for our industry, but we must first regain control of our airports as a minimum, through a more strategic regulatory oversight. This should not seek to stifle on-airport investment and it must be cognisant of why airports were developed in the first place.

Aviation is a tough business, international in its absolute commitment to high standards.

With the world recovering from deep recession, now is the time for our aviation industry to remove all possible barriers from its future. Continuing government interest and a modicum of infrastructure support would be helpful. n Australian Aviation is proud to be the official supporting journal of the Regional Aviation Association of Australia. The views in this column are those of the RAAA, and not necessarily Australian Aviation’s.

“We have the f inest natural flight training environment in the world, but are yet to fully exploit this advantage.”