FIFO findings

Queensland’s Government simultaneously approved the massive BHP coal mine near Moranbah as 100% FIFO but requiring BHP to build 400 houses throughout the entire area. Booming coal and gas port city Gladstone, where many D/FIFO, to grow significantly is out of houses announced an instant suburb of 918 dwellings. Canberra may go against outside workers but history shows without aircraft much development simply couldn’t occur.
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Wau goldfields were only possible due construction of Wau’s tight 1:12 slope strip in 1927, tri motor Junkers G31s flying in thousands of tonnes from Lae – the alternative a 2 week walk in. P/NG (and Lae) handled more air freight in a 1931 month than the rest of the world did in the year. After WW11 the Madang/Highlands air bridge saw up to 20 DC3/C47s operating, taking the local freight crown, losing it when the Highlands Highway from Lae opened in the 60s.

Initiative ruled. The G31’s square sided hold had a removable roof cut in through which tailored mine equipment sections were loaded for assembly in Wau. Madang saw the unique Cessna 337s with hinged aft engines to allow long loads. Isolated Bundi village in 1970 needed a new tractor. It was cut in two and flown into the strip on a ledge overhanging the Ramu Valley in two Skyvan trips and welded back together.

Western Australia’s FIFO is well documented and includes many routes, Perth/Argyle the longest. Other states followed with Queensland now challenging the statistics. Part FIFO/RPT emerged with Brisbane to Gove,Telfer, Karratha and Port Hedland the longest but the intrastate runs cover the state and will explode whatever Canberra finds. One recent day 31 return RPT and /or FIFO flights – nine 8/12 seat twins and 22 RPT types Metros, Saabs, all four Dash 8 models and F100s operated from Brisbane to adjacent Emerald, Moranbah, Dysart and Clermont. Twins from Rockhampton, Mackay and Toowoomba also ran FIFOs there. Three years back just Emerald retained an air service (4 a day to Brisbane) out of BPAs 1980 Metro/Titan service previously linking all ten Central Queensland ports to Brisbane, Townsville and coastal cities.

BHPs recent decision to sack 1,000 workers at Port Kembla saw Q’ld headhunters jump in with Rex/Pel Air to operate FIFO Wollongong/Emerald and Qantas applying to run Dash 8 Q400s. The Illawarra long abandoned by airlines would love its Melbourne link back and the Qantas 400 has to originate in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. Inserting an Emerald/Wollongong FIFO return in a Brisbane/Emerald return RPT is about an 8 hour pattern and may get up, denying a Melbourne link.

Fixed local staffing wont work during the very mobile exploration and labour intensive construction phases .1500 kms of gas and rail lines will likely be built in Qld and over 8,000 oil and gas wells drilled. FIFO/DIDO transport of those transients most who may never work in the end result is perhaps optimum, it being pointless to build permanent accommodation and facilities above what will be needed in the production phase.

Given demand for our minerals and governments’ needs for big royalties to balance budgets, it is hard to not see FIFO/DIDO surviving, possibly the former practice of mines providing more local amenities and houses a la the Moranbah decision, emerging as a trade off. Toowoomba where a string of charter twins run daily FIFOs to ports from Mackay through CQ around to Moomba is safe and Wollongong and Gold Coast will join it.