Canberra General Aviation community calls for second airport

Writing in the Canberra Times this week, secretary of the Canberra Region Aviators Association (CRAA), David Edmunds, clarifies the case for a second airport to be developed in the vicinity of the nation’s capital.

Since the privatization of Canberra Airport GA operators have felt increasingly unwelcome and indeed many have already moved to other airfields. Terry Snow has made no secret of the fact that he was sourcing a meager three per cent of his revenue from GA; and that the land could be put to much more profitable uses.

The problem with that is that there’s nothing else conveniently close, with Goulburn being the best part of an hour’s drive away. Hence the incentive for finding a solution closer to home.

In fact the CRAA was formed in 2009 with the specific objective of establishing a second airfield for Canberra.

In his Canberra Times piece, Edmunds quotes a Deloitte Access Economics report from late last year that such an airport can provide a five per cent return on investment while offering considerable benefits to the varied GA community.

And the ACT Government is only being asked to cough up an initial investment to create a grass strip and put a security fence around it.

But the relevant minister has declined to support the proposal, citing the improbability of achieving an adequate ROI.

Well David Edmunds is adamant that the idea is not going to be mothballed.

In fact he says that the lack of a second airfield is inhibiting the development of significant pilot training programs at at least two educational establishments in the city.

“The centenary celebrations in 2013 provide Canberra with a unique opportunity to develop our secondary airfield,” Edmunds says. “A ‘Centenary Field’ project would… provide opportunities for employment, careers for our young people and a community resource well into the future.”