Anger grows over 'flawed' airport plan

The multi-million dollar businesses who say they've been shut out of airport expansion plan.

Captain Mike Becker of Becker Helicopters Pilot Academy says general aviation tenants aren't being consulted or their needs considered during the Sunshine Coast Airport expansion project. Picture: Alistair Brightman / Fraser Coas

AN AVIATION business that until a year ago generated $53m annually to the Sunshine Coast has lashed out at what it has described as a flawed consultation process for the Sunshine Coast Airport expansion project.

Mike Becker, head of Becker Helicopters Pilot Academy, said air-side tenant businesses needed to be better engaged in the master planning process than had been the case to date.

The business, which has signalled an intent to shift its operations to South Australia, has operated from Sunshine Coast Airport since 1996.

It now occupies three sites at airfield, down from the seven it held until two years ago and still operates 15 Jet Ranger and two Bell 427 light twin helicopters to conduct flight training.

"Historically aircraft operators and owners have been very poorly represented,” Captain Becker complained in a letter to Ron Brent, chair of the Sunshine Coast Airport Community and Aviation Forum.　

"We get excluded and instead lower level stake holders such as taxi, limousine, coffee shop, takeaway food concession holders, other support business to the airline industry and local residential groups have a voice.

"And those of us who are directly operating air-side and require a voice on how we will be able to operate our aircraft with the creation of this new runway and the closure of the other, are side stepped.

"I can tell you now that we have never been listened to, never had the opportunity to have our concerns seriously considered and we have never been given any respect that a tenant should be given and this seems to be continuing.”

The Sunshine Coast Airport runway expansion is taking-off. Picture: Erle Levey

He said evidence of that neglect was apparent in any examination of the past and current master plans for the airport.

"I challenge you to see how the master plans addresses the accommodation of two of the largest privately owned helicopter operators in Australia.

"Look at the amount of helicopter movements with Air Services Australia then you tell me where our new runway is?”

A Sunshine Coast Airport spokeswoman said it considered its general aviation operators as highly-valuable tenants.

The spokesperson claimed management "continually communicates with them to ensure that we are meeting their present and future needs”.

"Unfortunately some General Aviation operators declined to take part in one-on-one meetings for the development of the new Master Plan, but the majority did,” she said.

"We believe that most tenants feel very positively about the revitalisation of the airport and the construction of a new, far superior, runway.”

The spokeswoman said the airport operator considered the new runway would meet all the existing and future needs of the airport and its tenants, including general aviation operators.

"The new runway will be much closer to the majority of general aviation tenants than the existing 18/36 so to suggest that general aviation tenants will be disadvantaged by the new runway is clearly spurious,” she said.

Meanwhile McDermott Aviation, which operates fire fighting, charter and rescue helicopter services from the airport as well as corporate jet services at the airport, has been told measures would be put in place to control dust from civil works associated with the new runway.

General manager Simon McDermott had written to the airport complaining about the level of grime that rapidly accumulated on freshly-washed aircraft.

He has been assured the contractor would deploy additional water cart resources for dust suppression.

Originally published as Anger grows over 'flawed' airport plan