Coronavirus Australia: Scott Morrison rules out ending curfew at Sydney Airport

Scott Morrison has rejected cutting the curfew at Sydney Airport but says no curfew would apply at the city’s second airport.

An Emirates plane taxis along the runway of Sydney International Airport as horses and riders are seen swimming at Botany Bay on Wednesday. Picture: Getty Images

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out cutting the curfew at Sydney Airport which sees no flights between 11pm and 6am, but said no curfew would apply at the new Western Sydney Airport.

The remarks come as the government considers an issues paper around Sydney Airport’s evening curfew and 80 flights per hour cap.

“The government has always had a clear view on the curfew and the cap that’s why we’re building Western Sydney Airport,” Mr Morrison said, speaking to Ben Fordham on 2GB this morning.

“The view will come back that the cap and the curfew (at Sydney airport) has been a consistent part of government policy for many years.”

Qantas, Virgin Australia and smaller airlines have made thousands of staff redundant, with international and state border closures­ making flying difficult.

The review is outlined in an issues­ paper — part of a five-year plan — to be released by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack on Thursday. The 36-page paper has been compiled to stimulate debate on the best way to take the aviation industry off taxpayer-funded life support as the flight subsidies bill soars towards $2bn.

“The Australian government will soon be commencing a comprehensive review of the legislation governing Sydney Airport’s demand management, including slot management,” the paper states. “The review is in response to a 2019 Productivity Commission inquiry report on Economic Regulation of Airports.”

The commission report found the measures in place at Sydney Airport were unnecessarily restrictive and could also compound delays, but stopped short of recommending wholesale changes.

The issues paper also seeks ideas on how to restore the aviation industry to a “commercially operated network” without sacrificing routes that keep the country connected. Virgin has already ­announced it will stop flying eight regional routes because it cannot make money from the flights.

Passengers waiting in the departures area of the Sydney International Airport on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

The paper acknowledges some routes would no longer be viable in a post-coronavirus world but said there was a need to maintain “essential connectivity” without government support. “It is important that the eventual phasing-out of direct assistance minimises disruption to the sector as Australia recovers and the domestic aviation sector starts returning to commercial levels,” it says.

Since March, the government has launched eight initiatives to assist the aviation industry, at a cost of more than $1.3bn.

On ­Monday, Mr McCormack, who is also the Transport Minister, announced­ the government would continue to subsidise domestic and regional flights for airlines until the end of January and March respectively.

“Having rolled out unpreced­ented support to the industry, the federal government is now seeking feedback from stakeholders on how we bounce back from here as we plot the pathway to recovery,” he said. “Australia has always been a world leader in delivering high-quality service and aviation training and there’s no reason that can’t continue.”

Other issues flagged as potent­ially under review include environ­mentally sustainable aviation, airspace management and access to skies. Cumbersome own­ership laws for local governments given responsi­bility for airports and aerodromes between 1989 and 1993 may be reconsidered too.