Sunshine Coast Airport runway repairs force shutdown

RUNWAY repairs forcing a reshuffle of emergency services is a good argument for keeping a second runway, says Machjet International boss Simon McDermott.

Simon McDermott, of McDermott Aviation, which is concerned about potential closure of Sunshine Coast Airport's existing runway. Picture: John McCutcheon

RUNWAY repairs forcing a reshuffle of emergency aviation services is as good an argument as any for keeping a second runway, says Machjet International boss Simon McDermott.

Night repairs on the tarmac of existing runway 18/36 at Sunshine Coast Airport will effectively close the strip at night from November 25-29 for crack sealing.

Mr McDermott, managing director of Machjet International, said the closure had forced him to relocate an aircraft to Brisbane to ensure he continued to meet his contractual arrangements with hospitals.

He said the repair closure was a perfect example of why the existing runway should be retained once the new 2450m runway opens in 2020.

As a result of the closure, no patient could be flown to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital via a fixed-wing aircraft.

"Ninety-eight per cent of our missions occur between the hours of 6pm and 5am,” he said.

Mr McDermott said rescue helicopters could still operate provided the weather was good enough.

It was understood the relocation to Brisbane would add about another 35 minutes flying time each way on missions at an additional cost to Machjet of about $6500.

"It's (runway) been damaged for a while,” he said.

He said even with the new runway, when it needed repairs, it would mean operators were still hamstrung.

"They could use the existing runway during repairs if they kept it,” he said.

Mr McDermott said there'd been little consultation about the repairs.

Sunshine Coast Airport CEO Peter Pallot said the repairs had been undertaken like this for the past 20-30 years and operators had been notified in advance.

He said they needed excavate down parts of the runway which meant at best it would be 3-4 hours turnaround to have the runway operational, in the event of an emergency call.

That was beyond the 90-minute wheels up timeframe for operators, which had forced the reshuffle.

"We generally do it about once a year,” Mr Pallot said.

He said when the new runway was in place it would be long enough to close part of it for repairs and have aircraft continue operating on the remaining tarmac.

"It will be a lot easier given it's so much longer,” he said.

"We try and accommodate them (operators) as best we can.

"We've said we'll try and move heaven and earth to accommodate them.”