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Saturday, June 21, 2008 Runway safety: Sydney
Airport 'penny pinching' The Australian Associated Press Pilots say east-west
runway needs concrete safety barriers. The International Pilots
Association is urging Sydney Airport to change its mind and install runway
safety barriers to prevent loss of life in the event of an overrun. The airport has decided to extend safety areas on the east-west runway by 90
metres. The work is expected to take about 18 months. International aviation safety standards require larger safety areas in areas
where aircraft overrun the runway. But the association says it also wants crushable concrete installed at the
end of the runway. Association general manager Peter Sommerville says while the corporation's
plan meets safety standards, it is a penny pinching decision. "The cost of the upgrade that pilots propose works out to about 16
cents a passenger in any one year," he said. "To take us up to that higher standard, what we would say is Australian
standard, rather than an international minimum standard, the small cost is
justified." In a statement, a spokesman for Sydney Airport says the corporation will be
considering all submissions as part of the formal MDP consultation process. "Australia's air safety regulations are set by the Civil Aviation
Safety Authority (CASA), not by the airport nor the pilot's association,"
the statement said. "Our job as an airport is to ensure that we comply with CASA's national
aviation safety regulations. The runway end safety areas provided at Sydney
Airport's three runways will all meet CASA's stringent aviation safety
requirements. "Sydney Airport has an excellent safety record and is committed to
maintaining it. Any suggestion to the contrary is totally rejected. " The airport traffic that uses the runway will be transferred to the
north-south landing strips during the upgrade. |
