Comment: How We Can Create General Aviation 2.0

I have been involved professionally within the Australian aviation industry since 1989 when I joined Sydney Air Traffic Control. Prior to this date, I grew up around General Aviation (GA). During the ‘70s and ‘80s, Dad worked for Rex at Bankstown Airport as a LAME and private pilot, my older brother was learning to fly at Camden Airport, and I was with the Air Training Corps (cadets). You could say Aviation runs in the family. 

I’ve watched the industry evolve as a result of the many challenges it has faced; the fallout from 9/11, collapse of Ansett, SARS epidemic, global financial crisis, crude oil price peaks, and now, COVID-19. 

Challenging events in our industry come and go. As an industry, we cope, we work through them, and we move on. Those within the aviation world are very resilient. 

When COVID-19 first hit the Australian aviation industry, in my role as GM Aviation at Sydney Metro Airports, I began contacting those that were based with us at Bankstown and Camden Airports, as well as customers that use our airports on a regular basis. I drove around and knocked on doors. I stopped on the aprons and spoke directly to people about how they were going. Initially, I thought this was a blip on the radar just like I had seen before. This quickly changed as I saw our friends and family starting to struggle both physically and mentally. 

Some of you reading this article may be those that I spoke to, and still do. These conversations ranged from speculative discussion about what was happening to passionate debates about the state of the world. They were often very emotional as we discussed the struggles that were being faced, both from a business and private perspective. 

My observation was that everyone in the aviation industry had to band together to ensure we made it to the other side of this crisis. 

Now, two years on, we have an industry trying to find its feet again. Organisations are wary in case we end up back in a lockdown, and there is a backlog of flying training that was missed due to COVID restrictions. 

So where to from here? It’s clear to me that all participants in the aviation industry, need to roll up their sleeves and do their part. With shared responsibility, together we can create GA 2.0. 

An example of sharing the load has included financial assistance, within the guidance of the goverment’s Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct was specifically related to tenant/landlord agreements where rental assistance could be provided. 

Other ways of sharing the load could be forming a joint venture with another aviation operation to share the costs of running your aviation business, interest, or hobby. 

One thing is certain, the future of aviation in Australia will look different. Our industry is safe and operates consistently because it has sound safety management processes. Past experiences, both good and bad, have allowed us to amend aviation process and procedures and make them very robust. 

In December 2021, the federal government released the Aviation Recovery Framework – Flying to Recovery for consideration. The framework considers a range of initiatives such as new technologies, airport infrastructure and revitalising GA to name a few. It provides some structure and encourages positive outcomes that the industry can use to assist the recovery process. 

We cannot fix our industry overnight, but I believe if we work together, airport operators, regulators, aviators, engineers, and other aviation service providers can create GA 2.0. An aviation industry even better than we had before in the wake of a post COVID-19 world.