A proposed landing fee for aircraft at Echuca aerodrome has users of the Campaspe Shire-owned facility worried and threatens to impact on visitors to the region.
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That is the opinion of long-time Echuca Aero Club member David Wearne after the club received a request from the Campaspe Shire to provide written feedback about the new fee structure.
Echuca Aero Club has been surprised by the March 9-dated document detailing the proposed introduction of a single-use landing fee and three annual fees.
“We didn’t see it coming. We had no prior indication that the fee structure was happening,” Mr Wearne said.
He said the decision to introduce the aerodrome fee structure, proposed to start on July 1 this year, had been made after a trial was conducted by a third party about use of the aerodrome.
Avdata Australia has been used by the shire to conduct a six-month trial, monitoring the aircraft traffic using the McKenzie Rd aerodrome.
Avdata is a Canberra-based company that promotes its services as “enabling airports to recover some of the costs of running and maintaining an airport”.
Mr Wearne is less complimentary in his description of the company’s services, suggesting the introduction of Avdata to aerodrome’s throughout Victoria has met with widespread dissatisfaction.
The fee structure has four components, the one which has the Echuca Aero Club concerned is the single-use (landing) fee of $10.
Mr Wearne said the fee, which he said had been introduced to “nine other aerodromes” in Victoria, was despised by aviators, who do their utmost to avoid aerodromes that charged the fee.
“They hate it and if they don’t have to use an aerodrome which has a fee they won’t. In our case it is a concern because they can land at Moama with no charge,” he said.
Mr Wearne said the other fees were a $240 general access fee designed for aeroclub members, hanger owners and aircraft located at the Echuca facility full time.
There is an annual commercial access fee of $360, which will be charged to charter groups, the new flying school that has recently been established at Echuca and haulage companies.
Mr Wearne said he had no problem paying the $240 annual fee, but he pleaded with the shire to leave the visitors alone.
On the Campaspe council website, under its aerodrome section, it reads “operated by Campaspe Shire Council casual users don’t get charged to use its sealed and grass runways. We want to encourage pilots, their passengers and aero clubs to land at the McKenzie Rd aerodrome and enjoy the facilities“.
In its letter to the aero club the shire said fees had previously been charged, prior to 2008.
Mr Wearne said Avdata had been monitoring aircraft movements with the intention of establishing the use fees.
It was a brief period before council re-considered the charging and went back to the previous arrangement, because of tourism concerns.
“They put in all the equipment very quietly. We weren’t really made aware of what was happening until the letter arrived,” he said.
The shire said in its letter that Avdata had “presented an opportunity to establish and charge user fees to generate a modest income from facility users, which will be used to partially offset operational costs”.
Bendigo, Shepparton and Swan Hill aerodromes were used by the company as a benchmark to present the recommended charges for the Echuca aerodrome.
Avdata, on its company website, promotes the fact it manages billing and reporting for more than 160 airports — Australia wide. It offers billing facilities for after-hours use of aerodromes, along with passenger charges and the flat fee for landing at aerodromes it manages.
The aero club has until the close of business on April 14 to provide relevant feedback and the matter will be brought before council at its May 18 meeting.
Mr Wearne said Avdata was set up all over Australia and while he stopped short of describing the landing fees as a “cash grab”, he did suggest it was a short-sighted approach.
“This is a company which provides a billing service for the shire. They record aircraft movement and send out the bills,” he said.
“My understanding is that it is the council’s responsibility to follow up on the payment if aviators choose not to pay.
“And, from my knowledge, there are several who will be in this boat.”
Mr Wearne said Avdata was, by far, the major biller of aerodromes.
“They go to a shire like Campaspe, an aerodrome owner, they put the equipment in and show how much they could make by charging these fees,” he said.
“But aviators hate these fees and pilots get inventive.
“They will use different call signs or won’t broadcast landing — which is very dangerous — or just don’t pay.
“It is then up to the council to collect the $11.”
The letter arrived just a week before 66 planes flew into the Echuca aerodrome last week for a special event.
Mr Wearne said the landing fee would have a detrimental effect on Echuca.
“Pilots wont come as a protest and they can go to Moama instead,” he said.
“I see Moama overtaking Echuca and this being another nail in our coffin. People who operate the Moama airport will be rubbing their hands together.
“And then there is the fact we have just had a flight school start at Echuca.”
Owners of the 12 hangers at the aerodrome pay average rates of $3000 a year and, according to Mr Wearne receive little more than “somewhere to take off and land”.
He said more than $100,000 was spent on the aerodrome last year by the council.
“They’ve spent a lot of money on the taxi ways, which — in the opinion of our pilots — are not up to standard,” he said.
Mr Wearne said the aero club wanted to see an aerodrome advisory committee established, with pilots on it, ensuring decisions were made by those with knowledge in the industry.
He said apart from the passenger terminal, which was never used, and the air strip itself, individual club members owned the hangers and part of the aerodrome land was also indpendently owned.
“They started selling the hangers 12 or 15 years ago,” Mr Wearne said.
“The terminal building was given to them by the Federal Government and it has never been used.
“It was a Commonwealth aerodrome and is one of the oldest in Australia.”
The aero club owns the clubhouse and believes its own future is in jeopardy if the fee structure is established.
“We do a Sunday roast day once a month, where aviators fly in for the day,” he said.
“Often we serve 50-plus people. Last Sunday we had 82 for lunch. It is a big money spinner for the club.”
Another of our major streams of income is from fuel sales of aircraft travelling in and out of Echuca, which is relied on heavily by the club for income.
Mr Wearne is attending a meeting of aviators where a decision will be made on the location of a major fly-in event planned for Echuca in October.
“When they hear this they may not come. Moama will become the number one stopover for pilots in this region,” he said.
Mr Wearne said he had contacted Avdata and asked what commissions they took from the landing fees.
“I am a little frustrated that the council props up other sporting and community facilities, all which they lose money on, we should be the same,” he said.
“We are ratepayers as well.”
There are currently 40 names on a petition being prepared by the aero club.
Mr Wearne said the shire had reportedly spent almost $50,000 on a survey not long ago to inspect the airport and make recommendations.
“Up until now our relationship with council had been amicable. We help the shire a lot, we keep the aerodrome tidy, dig out the bindii and other things,” he said.
Mr Wearne said the decision could not only spell the end of the aero club, but maybe even the aerodrome.
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor