Taking stock

We delivered a National Conference in Hobart that exceeded all expectations, secured international participation in Airport Safety Week, held a sold-out Pavements and Lighting Forum in Sydney, hosted a successful annual industry stakeholder event, as well as a Parliamentary Friends of Tourism dinner.

We also officially committed to developing a dedicated online education offering for the airport industry, launched three new Airport Practice Notes, released a research report on liberalising air services agreements, secured new staff resources, and in our spare time moved the AAA secretariat into new and improved premises.

While I am incredibly proud of what the AAA has achieved, particularly in the last 12 months alone, there is another equally challenging and exciting year ahead in 2016. We are planning to release several new Airport Practice Notes, strongly pursue our policy and advocacy campaign with government, host three major events for the airport industry, officially launch our online education offering, as well as release an industry-first regional airport infrastructure report.

More broadly, the year ahead will also undoubtedly offer some surprises and unforeseen challenges for the industry, particularly with a federal election due to take place, as well as a shake-up of the senior executive in key Commonwealth government agencies.

In the first half of 2016 the AAA will be releasing two new Airport Practice Notes, one providing guidance on wildlife hazard management and the second covering disability access at airports. The wildlife hazard management document has been designed to provide an Australian context for wildlife hazard management at airports and is structured to provide an understanding of regulations, assistance in identifying wildlife hazards, developing a WHMP, implementing a wildlife management program, and evaluating program effectiveness.

The second is a disability access document, focused on assisting airport operators in understanding and achieving their responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act, and thereby enhancing the accessibility of air travel for all. In addition to these documents the AAA will also be exploring the development of guidance material on airfield lighting and airfield pavements.

The AAA will also need to work closely with government and other stakeholders in the year ahead to shape the policy and regulatory landscape for airports. The focus areas will continue to be on aviation security, safety regulation and standards, border agency processing and facilitation, pursuing red tape reduction opportunities, and pushing for improved land use planning around airports. In the past 18 months there has been a substantial improvement in government’s engagement with industry.

This has been evident in the Office of Transport Security’s consultation on aviation security reforms, CASA’s review of CASR/MOS Part 139 for aerodromes, and more recently commitments from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to reform how it collaborates and works with industry.

The AAA is committed to fostering and further developing these relationships in 2016 to achieve practical and effective policy outcomes for industry.

We are also excited to be hosting our next airport operations forum ‘OPS-SWAP’ on May 25-26 in Brisbane. The forum provides airports an opportunity to discuss technical issues, new technologies and the challenges they face on a daily basis. It encourages industry collaboration and knowledge sharing and has been very well received in previous years. We will also be hosting Airport Safety Week in October, in conjunction with NZ Airports, for the third year running. This industry initiative has been exceptionally well received and provides a great platform for elevating safety awareness at airports. The AAA is looking forward to working closely with our industry partners to further develop the event in 2016.

Finally our cornerstone event of the year, the AAA National Conference, will be held from November 21-25 in Canberra and we are excited to bring the airport industry together in the nation’s capital.

One of the most exciting developments for the AAA this year will be the launch of our new online education training platform. The AAA board approved the proposal for this new venture in late 2015 and it is planned that the first online course will be offered by October 2016. The first course to be offered will be an Aerodrome Reporting Officer (ARO) online course, which will be developed in recognition of the difficulties faced by regional and remote aerodromes accessing affordable training opportunities.

The second online education course to be developed will focus on airside safety fundamentals, which will be applicable to all persons working at an airport who wish to gain a greater understanding of airside safety principles and hazard management.

Finally, in recognition of the substantial challenges facing regional airports, the AAA has commissioned ACIL Allen to undertake a comprehensive desktop study that investigates the economic contribution of regional airports across the country, assesses their future infrastructure maintenance/upgrade funding requirements against the availability of funding, and demonstrates the cost-benefit of particular regional aerodrome projects through several case studies. This report will be released in the first half of 2016. The overall purpose of the project is to demonstrate the critical importance of regional aviation to Australia’s economy, and to identify the funding shortfall that exists for regional aerodromes to maintain ongoing operations, as well as to demonstrate the economic impact this will have on a local region.

The AAA plans to use the report and its findings as evidence to justify the creation/expansion of specific Commonwealth and state government funding programs for regional aerodromes to undertake essential aeronautical infrastructure maintenance and upgrades.