ISSUE 8 > WINTER 2012
(left to right) Sharp Airlines Crew: Jamieson Hunter - First Officer, Matt Reading - Captain and Chris Duffy - Pilot, Ground Handler
FRIENDLY SKIES OVER ESSENDON AIRPORT
COSTA ROLFE
For the majority of bleary-eyed travellers, airports are a valued means of transit to that next business meeting or – for the luckier ones – that first umbrella-garnished cocktail. Steeped in functionality and structure, the airport’s bustle is generally forgotten the moment its visitors collect their last elusive suitcase and make for the taxi rank. But for the residents and businesses situated within a close proximity to airports, the relationship with these lively hubs of aerial activity is of necessity a far less fleeting, and entirely more complex, one. Indeed, such relationships cannot be placed in a holding
pattern when convenient: airports do not simply disappear with the last ‘fasten seatbelt’ sign, and instead yield a permanent influence on local infrastructure, business and housing.
Cognisant of the need to better regulate such interactions, the Gillard government made consultation between airports and sometimescompeting airport stakeholders a priority, establishing independently-chaired Community Aviation Consultation Groups (CACG’s) in order to better foster productive discussion and dialogue. Created on the back of the government’s 2009 ‘Flight Path to the Future’ initiative, these bodies now ensure a formal community voice at each of Australia’s major airports, with all federallyleased airports required to institute a CACG.
One significant development generated out of the establishment of the Essendon CACG is the successful negotiation of the ‘Fly Neighbourly Agreement’, a voluntary accord espousing resident-conscious practices at Essendon Airport. Implemented twelve months ago, the agreement itself sets out a list of key principles to which its signatories pledge compliance, among them reducing unnecessary engine revs, maintaining a height of above 1000 feet unless arriving or departing the airport, responding to community inquiries about noise in a cooperative manner, and ensuring that environmental awareness and noise issues are included in pilot training. Air services operating out of Essendon are urged to abide by the ‘Fly Neighbourly Agreement’s’ inherently conscientious philosophy, asserts Airport Operations Manager Graeme Ware. “We encourage our operators to sign up to the ‘Fly Neighbourly Agreement’ so that they might better consider the community they are flying over.” And with the issue of noise pollution accepted as a legitimate concern, airport management are
wholly committed to a conciliatory approach, having recognised the importance of establishing convivial, reciprocal relationships between the airport and the community that envelops it. “Our business is continuing to grow, and we have to manage that with community expectations. We may not always share the same outlook, but as long as the various parties treat each other with respect, solutions will inevitably reveal themselves.” Like an air traffic controller brandishing his marshalling wands, Ware is responsible for guiding all manner of complaints and disputes, with a perusal of the CACG’s minutes revealing a range of disparate concerns voiced by residents and interest groups – from helicopters operating out of curfew to unsound drainage of airport stormwater. Ware – who once even went to the extraordinary lengths of doing a ‘graveyard shift’ in a repeat complainant’s house in order to best appreciate a particularly sensitive noise issue – remains committed to working with the community. “It is our responsibility to treat residents with empathy and demonstrate a willingness to work with all parties.