Older travellers call for aerobridge in $200m Hobart Airport revamp

A $200 million redevelopment of the Hobart airport will not include a level aerobridge, a move that has generated a chorus of anger from senior citizens and people with disabilities.

IT’S a mere flight of steel stairs, but the mobile stairway leading passengers to and from planes at Hobart Airport is a major stumbling block for many Tasmanians.

The revelation a $200 million redevelopment of the airport [distributed over two stages of $100 million each] will not include a level aerobridge has generated a chorus of anger from people with mobility issues, including senior citizens and people with disabilities.

“I have arthritis and a bad heart and the stairs are a nightmare,” said Fran Swiadek, 75, from Glenorchy.

Former air hostess Helen Walne, 80, said the stairs were “antiquated” and the alternative wheelchair lift was equally dangerous.

“It wobbles and shakes and you have to hang on tight,” said Ms Walne, from the Huon Valley.

Tasmania’s Council on the Ageing is taking the issue to the State Government, asking for intervention in the future redevelopment of the privately owned airport.

EXPANSION PLAN FOR HOBART AIRPORT TAKES FLIGHT

COTA Tasmania chief executive Sue Leitch said the omission of an accessible aerobridge to embark and disembark from aircraft was “appalling”.

She said COTA had received complaints about the redevelopment plans from not only older Tasmanians, but people with disabilities.

“If they are going to be investing in a major upgrade they should be looking to put an aerobridge in to make planes more accessible,” she said.

“Many people find stairs intimidating, especially when you’re carrying hand luggage,” she said.

“I struggle to believe they would undertake this major upgrade without factoring in these considerations.”

Former1960s air hostess Helen Walne is calling for the Airport upgrade to include an airbridge for older Tasmanians, like herself, who suffer arthritis. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

Ms Leitch said she would write to Premier Will Hodgman and Disability Services Minister Jacquie Petrusma to ask them to intervene in the future plans for the airport.

Hobart Airport chief operating officer Matt Cocker said there were “several reasons” the expansion plans did not include a covered aerobridge.

He said aerobridges were too expensive and airlines preferred stairs because they were a faster option for moving passengers.

“Aerobridges are very expensive to install, requiring further spend on the building structure as well as developing large footings airside, not to mention the cost of the unit themselves,” he said.

“They are also very expensive to maintain and operate and many airports are moving away from aerobridges, due to this.”

EDITORIAL: AIRPORT NEEDS AN UPGRADE

Mr Cocker said Hobart Airport was instead looking into the possibility of other “ramp access solutions”.

But many older Tasmanians are aghast that so much money could go into an upgrade without consideration for a large chunk of the population.

Ms Walne said the disregard for Tasmania’s seniors was “appalling”.

The former flight attendant, who worked for Ansett and TAA in the 1960s, said passengers’ comfort took priority in the “good old days”.

Ms Walne said she had lived in and travelled to cities around the world, and Hobart’s disembarking options were archaic in comparison.

Fran Swiadek 75 of Glenorchy is disappointed that aerobridges are not part of planned upgrades to Hobart International Airport. Fran travels regularly interstate. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

Ms Walne has not been able to use Hobart Airport’s stairway for 17 years because of arthritis.

She said the wheelchair lift alternative, a wobbly “cherrypicker” that lifts people from the tarmac to the aircraft, was terrifying.

“You almost have to be more fit to stay inside the cherrypicker than use the stairs,” she said.

Mrs Swiadek said she flew about eight times a year to see shows in Melbourne and the stairs at Hobart Airport were always a hurdle – but less terrifying than the wheelchair lift.

“I climb up the stairs because the lift is just awful,” she said.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said the current infrastructure at the airport made aerobridges “basically impossible” without a complete rebuild, which would be too expensive.

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“Based on Canberra’s experience, it’s a billion dollars plus to rebuild an airport. The airlines aren’t going to pay for that, and no government’s going to pay for an asset owned by Macquarie Bank, so it’s just not going to happen,” he said.

“They clearly must upgrade the shelter and amenities on the tarmac, and I would expect there will be substantial measures in this redevelopment around this space.”

Mr Martin said Hobart was not the only airport still using stairs. “I do struggle to rationalise why this is such an issue in Hobart, and not so much in Launceston, or Tullamarine T4, where half the flights from Hobart are going to continue to land for the foreseeable future.”

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