Business Case for the SunShine CoaSt airport Master Plan

Business Case for the Sunshine Coast Airport n Master Plan (November 2009)
community concern, impacts on the
PSA and Runway End Safety Area
(RESA) and the limited operational
value afforded by extending the
runway, this option was rejected.
Similarly, there are considerable costs
and operational constraints involved in
widening of the existing runway.
Using the existing runway 18/36
passenger growth can only be
accommodated by increasing aircraft
numbers. This is due to the limitations
of the runway width and hence the
inability to accommodate larger
aircraft types. This limits the potential
to grow the destination and the
aviation market to all but limited trans-
Tasman routes.
The Queensland Government’s State
Planning Policy (SPP) 1/02 requires
Public Safety Areas (PSA) be provided
at the end of the main runway at
major airports, including Sunshine
Coast Airport, where increased
risks to public safety can arise from
development near the runway ends,
including:
■■
Residential development.
■■
The manufacture or bulk storage
of flammable, explosive or noxious
materials.
■■
Uses that attract large numbers
of people (e.g. sports stadiums,
shopping centres, industrial or
commercial uses involving large
numbers of workers or customers).
■■
Institutional uses (e.g. educational
establishments, hospitals).
The State Planning policy allows
existing development to remain within
PSA; however no new development
should be permitted in the PSA.
The 2006 Draft Preliminary Master
Plan considered several runway
options focused on development of
the existing runway 18/36. Trans-
Tasman operations of B737 and A320
are possible and have taken place
using similar aircraft types. However,
these operations are likely to suffer
payload penalties due to the available
take-off runway length, particularly
during the summer when ambient
temperatures are higher. This would
affect the financial competitiveness of
the route.
Possible development options for
runway 18/36 are limited by the
adjacent built-up areas, the need
to provide for RESA and PSA and
the limited economic, social and
operational value such development
would bring.
It is possible to extend the current
18/36 runway to 2,080 metres in
length. However this cost would
not be justified given the limited
operational gains achieved. To expand
the range of destinations, for example
to the west coast of Australia and into
south-east Asia, a step change to a
runway of at least 2,450 metres in
length is required.
The public consultation which
accompanied the 2006 Draft
Preliminary Master Plan showed
public resistance to any development
of runway 18/36 which extended
safety areas into the surrounding
residential areas. There was, however,
support for the development of a new
east-west runway 13/31.
SCRC recently published a draft
Climate Change Strategy that
suggests the current runway would
no longer have a one per cent Annual
Exceedance Probability (AEP) storm
event flood immunity beyond 2070.
Development of runway 18/36 does
not provide for the long-term needs
of the Sunshine Coast, nor is it
supported by the local community.
05.1.5 Preferred option – new
east-west runway 13/31
Construction of a new east-west
runway 13/31 is the preferred
development option. It addresses
all of the operational constraints of
the existing runway and enables
SCA to meet the future air transport
needs of the Sunshine Coast region.
Specifically, it will:
■■
allow larger aircraft to operate from
the facility;
■■
extend the range that aircraft can
operate from the facility;
■■
enable direct access to new
markets in China, Japan, India and
other south-east Asian countries;
■■
allow A320 and B737 to operate
from the airport without the
requirement for dispensation from
CASA ;
■■
remove a key commercial risk for
SCA associated with a reliance on
dispensation for B737 and A320
to operate from the airport;
■■
improve airline operational
capability by allowing increased
payloads – both freight and
passengers;
■■
increases the competitiveness of
the region’s export industry – such
as fish and agricultural industries;
■■
improve airline operational
capability by reducing the number
of flights diverted due to excessive
cross-winds;
21