Regional Capitals Australia (RCA) has called on the Federal Government to invest in regional airports, advocating for funding for important programs to continue so regional airports are able to fly.
Regional Capitals Australia Chair and current Mayor of the City of Albury Cr Kylie King recently led a delegation of members to Canberra to advocate to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development the Hon Catherine King MP for additional support for regional airports, in anticipation of the release of the Government’s Aviation Green Paper.
“Regional airports are extremely hard-working community assets with a big role to play in the life of regional Australia and indeed our nation’s broader economy and security,” Cr King explained.
“Regional airports are too important to fail – beyond servicing passenger services they provide critical functions essential for our nation’s health and safety including border protection, medivac, defence and disaster response,” Cr King said.
An estimated 200 regional airports are owned and operated by local councils but rising operating, regulation and security costs means that many airports are operating at a loss and a burden on regional ratepayers.
The Australian Airports Association estimates that prior to the pandemic, regional Australia accounted for 45% of output from Australia’s tourism sector, with regional airports acting as critical connecting points for international and domestic tourists.
Regional airports are also key gateways for the movement of Australia’s estimated 100,000 FIFO workers, air freight, business travel and the growth of new jobs and aviation industries.
Regional airports play an indispensable role in the security, wellbeing and equity of our nation, with the Australian Airports Association estimating that regional airports facilitate over 6,000 emergency medical evacuations per year and house over 500 firefighting aircraft across Australia.
“Unfortunately, the reality is most regional airports are under significant financial strain with an estimated 60 per cent of regional airports operating at a loss due to ageing infrastructure, security cost pressures, high staffing costs, and an increasing regulatory burden,” Cr King explained.
The Regional Capitals Australia delegation made the case to Federal leaders that regional airports struggle with disproportionately high regulatory and security costs imposed by Federal authorities, in comparison to major metro airports.
“Regional Capitals Australia are calling on the Federal Government to provide recurrent funding for the regulatory costs in running airports which account for 12 per cent of total expenditure as well as funding for important upgrade of regional airports, and to develop a sustainable long term plan for the regional aviation network,” Cr King concluded.