Airservices is a government-owned corporation providing safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible services to the aviation industry. We manage air traffic operations for around 75 million passengers on more than three million flights every year.

Enhanced air traffic services at regional airports

After consultation with other aviation agencies and industry earlier this year, Airservices has finalised an implementation plan for improving air traffic services and surveillance arrangements at a number of major regional airports.

Development of the plan followed completion of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) Report providing advice to Government on Ministerial Direction 2004-4 of July 2010 which responded to a request by the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, regarding options to improve air traffic service arrangements at the regional airports covered by the Radar Direction.

The plan prioritises enhancements to regional air traffic services and surveillance at regional locations having regard to the availability and quality of existing services and infrastructure, current and forecast passenger growth. It includes the use of new  surveillance technologies that have been developed over recent years including Automatic Dependant Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) and Wide Area Multilateration (WAM).

The plan involves a phased approach to implementing enhanced surveillance capability and air traffic control services over the next two years, initially focussing on seven locations namely Hobart, Launceston, Rockhampton, Mackay,HamiltonIsland, theSunshineCoastandAlice Springs.  The first stage of the Tasmanian enhancements are already in place having commenced in June 2011.

The plan also requires that the timing and necessity for enhanced infrastructure and approach services at Albury, Tamworth andCoffsHarbourwill be examined against future traffic growth and density levels at these three locations by 2014.

Further consideration will also be given to introducing enhanced services at Broome and Karratha, which continue to experience strong traffic growth.

A copy of the final plan is provided here. 

 Link to Ministerial Direction (2004)

 Link to  CASA Report providing advice to Government on Ministerial Direction 2004-4 (2010)