AIRPORT
REGIONAL AIRPORTS KEEPING COMMUNITIES CONNECTED Australia is home to more than 400 civilian airports, with the majority of these located in regional areas. While these regional airports might be smaller than their city counterparts, their contribution to the regions they service, and Australia’s wider economy, is vital. by Imogen Hartmann, Associate Editor, Monkey Media
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egional airports are critical to Australian industries such as tourism, resources, logistics and emergency services. In 2018, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) found that regional airports and the communities they served accounted for 45 per cent of Australia’s overall tourism industry. The AAA also found that, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, around 15 million passengers travelled through regional airports, with over 360,000 flights per year. For example, Mildura Airport, in Victoria, is a vital cog in the region’s economy and is geographically important given its location on the New South Wales border and proximity to South Australia. The airport provides critical connectivity for business and leisure travel. In the Murray region, where the Mildura airport is situated, tourism is the second largest employer, supporting over 18,000 jobs and contributing over $2 billion in direct expenditure to the local economy. Facilitating more than just domestic travel and tourism, regional airports also house around 500 aircraft to be deployed for firefighting duties, support 4,450 jobs, and enable over 6,000 emergency evacuations per year. The Balgo Hill Airport in the Kimberley region, Western Australia, is critical for facilitating emergency evacuations because of the remote area it services. In the past five years, the airport has seen 459 Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) landings. The AAA has dubbed the regions as the “backbone” of Australia, and their access to markets, healthcare, export and produce, which are facilitated by regional airports, is thereby critical to the nation’s success and prosperity. SUPPORT CAMPAIGN GETS OFF THE GROUND In 2018, the AAA, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA), and Australian Logistics Council (ALC), launched the Protect Regional Airports Association to seek direct Federal Government funding support for essential infrastructure at regional airports.
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June 2021 // Issue 19
The Protect Regional Airports Association called on the Federal Government to establish a $100 million fund to be delivered over four years, using a co-contribution funding model in partnership with state and local governments. The campaign ultimately resulted in a 2019-20 Federal Budget allocation, called the Regional Airports Program. The program produces competitive grants intended to improve safety, delivery of essential goods, healthcare and passenger air services, and enable more connectivity between Australia’s regions, domestic and global market opportunities.
MAYDAY! EVENTS OF 2020 HIT COUNCIL-FUNDED AIRPORTS HARD The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were felt across airports all around the country – and the world. An Airport Monitoring Report from the ACCC revealed that operating profits from four of Australia’s largest airports (Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney) hit a decade-low level following a dramatic fall in passengers during the crisis. Australia’s regions were hit just as hard, with passenger numbers down by 70-90 per cent, and airports hemorrhaging up to $7 million every month, as they struggled to maintain critical services with decreased revenue. The pandemic also resulted in thousands of staff redundancies in the aviation sector, with many stood down and forced to find other work. AAA Chief Executive, James Goodwin, said that due to this, funding for regional airport infrastructure had never been so important. “COVID-19 has knocked regional airports for six, pushing passenger numbers down by more than 70 per cent and resulting in $7 million of lost revenue every month,” Mr Goodwin said. “To make it even more challenging, council-owned airports don’t have access to Job Keeper but they continue to stay open as a critical service for the regional communities which rely on them.”
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