A pilot from Victoria has blasted the Carpentaria Shire Council for charging landing fees at its airports, saying he will boycott the community due to the fees imposed.
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Private pilot and member of Recreational Aviation Australia Ltd (RAAus) Geoffrey Stevens has written to the Carpentaria Shire Council stating he would like to see Carpentaria Shire cease charging landing fees at Karumba and Normanton airports to light aircraft under one tonne.
"I use my aircraft to travel throughout Australia for regular holidays. I object to paying landing fees and will not land at your airport simply to enable me to spend my money in your town, I will take my money to another friendly town that does not charge landing fees," Mr Stevens said.
"I have visited both towns a number of times and have enjoyed my visit very much. I would normally recommend a visit, but, sadly as you charge landing fees, I will be recommending to the 10,000 RAAus pilots not to visit and go to a friendly landing fee town instead."
Carpentaria Shire's landing fees are listed on their website at $19 per tonne at both Normanton and Karumba airports, with mayor Jack Bawden stating the landing fees were reasonable.
"In reality that is nothing. When you have a limited population and no rate base you can't afford to give freebies," Cr Bawden said.
"Unfortunately if pilots are going to boycott us, so be it. It is not the first time we have had someone whinge about about landing fees and it probably won't be the last.
"The fees payable do go into the airport revenue and maintaining the airport, but it falls a long way short. The ratepayers subsidise it as it is now, so we can't not charge a landing fee and expect the local ratepayers to pay more."
Mr Stevens said RAAus pilots did not need "manicured airport surroundings" and just simply wanted to travel and spend money in towns.
"RAAus pilots do not need, nor can they legally use, expensive night runway lighting, or do not need manicured airport surroundings - we only need a safe runway, taxiway and parking area - no frills," he said.
"By all means, improve the look of the airport for the admiration of local inhabitants, for airlines, commercial operators and perhaps the Flying Doctor, but we do not need the frills.
"When our pilots land at your airport, they have come simply to visit the town and spend money. The type of expenditure by pilots in towns is with local traders on fuel, rental cars, hotels/motels, restaurants, local sightseeing, all of which gives local businesses extra revenue to expand and improve their business.
"It would be rare for a pilot to come to a town and spend less than $500. If they spend a week, as I do from time to time, expenditure would be probably more than $3000."
Mr Stevens attached a copy of the 314 friendly landing fee free airports in Australia, which he said he encouraged the RAAus members to travel to instead.
Included in this list of locations, only six North West airports were listed as 'landing fee free' including Bedourie, Camooweal, Gregory Downs, Lawn Hill, Urandangi and Winton with Birdsville only charging a landing fee for the duration of the Birdsville Races.
KAP leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter uses his private plane to travel to remote communities across his electorate frequently and said he was not deterred to travel because of landing fees.
"As someone who has a private pilots license and flies all over North West Queensland I can say the landing fees are not a significant cost to me as is the cost of fuel and maintenance. I am much more sensitive to those costs than I am to landing fees," Mr Katter said.
"If you're a small aviation enthusiast who is flying from Brisbane to Normanton, one way that trip has probably cost you $4000 ($8000 return) and the landing fees might cost you $100 at the most, so to say that landing fees are a deterrent of visiting these communities is non-sense. It's such a small and almost insignificant part of your overall costs.
"If someone is going to lobby for something, save your energy for CASA which is running general aviation into the ground, it is a much bigger issue."
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