Review on whether to cut rescue and firefighting crew at airport

A controversial review of rescue and firefighting crew numbers at Adelaide Airport by Airservices Australia is slated to get under way this month.

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A controversial review of rescue and firefighting crew numbers at Adelaide Airport by Airservices Australia is slated to start this month.

The move comes as the United Firefighters Union, West Torrens Council, federal politicians and airport workers have voiced grave concerns at a mooted 40 per cent cut to staff during curfew hours — just as flights between 11pm and 6am have ballooned to about 4000 a year, or 10 a day.

An airport source told Messenger Community News that any downgrading of curfew crew from five to three — one officer and two firefighters — would make it “impossible to cope in most emergencies and leave the airport very vulnerable”.

After West Torrens councillors expressed alarm at the mooted cuts last month, chief executive officer Terry Buss wrote a sharply worded letter to Airservices Australia chief executive officer Jason Harfield condemning any move to cut vital personnel as “unwarranted” and “unjustified”.

Mr Buss warned that it would be “illogical” for Airservices to reduce staffing levels as a cost-saving measure at a time when Adelaide Airport was continuing to grow “at an exceptional rate”.

SA aeroplane accident scene after a light aircraft performed an emergency landing when landing gear failed at Adelaide Airport. Picture: Channel 7 helicopter.

In his response, Mr Harfield said the review of rescue and firefighting personnel would consider location-specific factors at Adelaide Airport. These included the type and frequency of aircraft operations, curfew hours, frequency of aircraft diversions and the timeliness of back-up support available from the metropolitan fire service.

“Any claim that Airservices has a current proposal to cut staff in Adelaide is incorrect,’’ Mr Harfield said.

However, in January federal Transport Minister Michael McCormack responded to a letter from Mr Buss by saying that under Civil Aviation Safety Regulations “there is no requirement to provide any Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) service coverage outside of the operating hours of passenger aircraft at Adelaide”, adding: “Current staffing levels are above the minimum required”.

In November last year an Airservices spokeswoman said a review of the roster at Adelaide had found that “overnight during the curfew, when there are no scheduled passenger aircraft movements, rostered staffing is above the required number”.

But Department of Transport figures show that aircraft operations at Adelaide Airport during the curfew period between October and December last year totalled 1014, with experts confident these numbers will increase.

Airservices Australia is to review aviation rescue and firefighting personnel at Adelaide Airport during curfew hours raising safety concerns by Airport Ward councillors Brandon Reynolds and Jassmine Wood. Picture: AAP/Roy VanDerVegt.

Airport Ward Cr Jassmine Wood said it was “astounding” that federal authorities might want to use the curfew to justify cuts to emergency personnel. Fellow Airport Ward Cr Brandon Reynolds said any consideration of cuts were “baffling” when more than 4000 aircraft a year arrive and depart during the curfew.

Glen Barker, a safety specialist with the United Firefighters Union of Australia said the high-level security measures in force at the airport would translate into significant delays for local emergency services attempting to assist in an emergency.

A State Government spokesman said that since Airservices Australia were entrusted to help implement the safety requirements at the airport “we expect them to take a safety-first approach towards operational procedures”.