Sydney Airport gets thumbs-up on Master Plan

The master plan looks similar to the previous master plans released every once in a while since 2000, which should have been implemented by now, but haven’t.

At peak times SYD is not fit for purpose now, let alone the future. This plan is 20 years too late.

Not enough freight apron. Not enough bays. Not enough taxiways. Congestion at peak times. Aircraft waiting for extended periods for a bay to become available. Strong westerly winds knock out the north-south runways restricting it to one east-west runway; and WSI has no east-west runway at all, so no backup option for Sydney Basin. Decades-old aerobridges in poor state of repair: dirty, stained, lifting carpet, water leaks, metal curtains over 15 years past end-of-life and rusted out of their channels creating a fall hazard. Poor housekeeping policing: bays are a mess, with rolling stock occasionally blocking aircraft parking. Grass sometimes too long, obscuring runway & taxiway signage and providing habitat for birds leading to bird-strike risk. Airside roadways pass behind parked aircraft, so there’s a traffic jam every time an aircraft arrives or departs, unlike other airports where roadways pass in front of parked aircraft unhindered by aircraft movements. Domestic & international departure vehicle drop-off points are chaotic and narrow: other airports have multiple parallel lanes. T1 arrival level is a dingy, low-ceilinged claustrophobic rabbit warren.
Plenty of parking and shopping though, which seems to be SYD’s primary focus, a shopping mall with paid parking and an airport attached.

The Jetbase (leased to Qantas) should have been moved, expanded or upgraded by now, with a large new hangar capable of accommodating two A380’s or three A330’s side by side, allowing demolition of Hangar 96, the Southern Hemisphere’s only Code-F A380-capable hangar to allow for eastward expansion of T3. I see from the latest plan that Hangar 96 is to remain to 2045. Since 2000 the Qantas fleet alone has expanded from 130 to 400 aircraft, with Qantas, Q-Link and Jetstar aircraft jammed in cheek-by-jowl into an area that long ago was unfit for purpose. Now it is like a set from the latest zombie apocalypse movie. Decrepit 1950s-1960’s era ill-equipped hangars quite literally falling apart and on their third asbestos remediation attempt. Weeds growing high. Insufficient permanent lighting for night work (virtue-signalling its carbon reduction goals with signs up at each bay to fit ground power but diesel-powered temporary lighting running all night for over a year). Decades-old broken & holey concrete tarmac patched with steel plates which occasionally cut aircraft tires under tow. Not enough hangars, not enough undercover aircraft parking. Not enough preconditioned air or ground power. Visiting Airbus maintenance crews have described it as the second-worst facilities they’ve seen anywhere in the world, with only Nairobi in Kenya being worse.

Welcome to SYD, largest gateway to the nation, main base for the national carrier.

I travel extensively. Cities half the size have larger, newer and superior airports and maintenance facilities than the current SYD. It is an international embarrassment.

To its credit, SYD is highly profitable. Being a former shareholder, it has availed me of significant dividends. However, a lot more of it should have been spent maintaining and improving it since privatisation in 2000.