Perth introduces schedule coordination

Perth Airport Terminal 1 Departures Expansion — Together with new infrastructure and air traffic management changes, Perth Airport will hope the addition of slot management will ease congestion. (Perth Airport)

Perth Airport has reached accord with its airline customers on the introduction of schedule co-ordination.

From February Airport Coordination Australia will manage schedule coordination – or slot management – on behalf of Perth Airport, balancing capacity and demand through by working with airlines to manage departure and arrival times to avoid conflicts.

Perth Airport has become a victim of its own success in recent years with the massive upsurge in fly-in/fly-out traffic supporting the resources boom in the state.

In recent months Airservices has undertaken a study of ways to ease congestion through changes to air traffic management on the ground and in the air. The report concluded Airservices and airport management could do more to work together to achieve a holistic solution to capacity management.

The combination of slot management, air traffic management co-ordination and new infrastructure will significantly ease congestion, albeit some of the measures will take longer to deliver.