New airport regulations introduced during the past three years have created an opportunity for those in the niche market for airport management services, notably in regional Western Australia, where the resources boom is also pushing demand for air transp
New airport regulations introduced during the past three years have created an opportunity for those in the niche market for airport management services, notably in regional Western Australia, where the resources boom is also pushing demand for air transport.
The popularity of fly-in-fly-out operations and the importance of safety in the resources sector is a big factor in driving demand for companies such as Guilford-based Forte Airport Management and East Perth-based Aerodrome Management Services Pty Ltd.
These players have been the winners as dozens of airports in regional WA have had to improve their management of engineering services including runway maintenance, construction and design.
Partly as a result of the increasing activity in regional airports around the country, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority reviewed the safety criteria for airports with aircrafts carrying more than 30 people in May 2003, setting May 2006 as a deadline for those aerodromes to be certified.
CASA aerodrome inspector Bill Deuchar said the air transport authority recognised that expertise was needed in regional Australia.
“The mine shires have a prime focus on mining, not on airport expertise,” he said. “We produce a sample manual that the airport management advisers applied to each airport to help them through the regulation implementation”.
Those in the business say regional airports and local shires often struggle to decipher the burgeoning regulations and increasingly rely on third party inspections and advice, like that provided by partners Kate Johnstone and Penny Donaldson.
About two years ago, the pair started their own airport management consultancy, Pakav, which mainly subcontracts to Aerodrome Management Services Pty Ltd and is involved with more than 60 regional airports.
“They had to decipher what they needed to do, and knowing their local situation and how to deal with the paperwork,” Ms Johnstone, told WA Business News.
“Say that an operator wants to use an aircraft with larger capacity, it might need to look at revising the length and strength of their runway, the parking areas, passenger facilities and many different aspect of the compliance.”
Also, Ms Johnstone said the regulation package that came into force in early 2005 was another big step in the increasingly regulatory requirements at WA airports.
“After September 11, the Department of Transport and Regional Services had a big review of their legislation,” she said. “For example, a jet aircraft operating a domestic air service that is a regular public transport operation now must be security screened aircraft prior to departure.”
According to Ms Johnstone, there will always be ongoing compliance demands as regional airports and shires expand.
“The boom in mining generated a boom in aviation which is becoming strong as well. There was a need of compliance to come into place at a time when the airports used to run their own show,” she said.
Fly-in-fly-out was becoming more popular in the mining sites and was multiplying considerably the number of passenger transferred each week, Ms Johnstone said.
Forte Airport Management managing director Andrew Forte is another who sees the changes driven by the boom as a sustainable shift that provides long-term opportunities for this type of work.
Mr Forte, whose company operates Christmas Island Airport, said this growth created a need for expansion that would provide a lot of work for all aspects of the airport management niche market.
“WA airports are starting to mature to the point that guarantees a constant amount of work in the next few years,” he said.
