Kempsey Shire Council is having a report compiled on the use of CCTV surveillance and other processes for monitoring aircraft at airports.
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The move comes after pilots from the Australian International Aviation School, which operates at Kempsey Airport, were spotted flying illegally on Australia Day.
Under the current terms of operation, aircraft aren’t allowed to fly on public holidays. However, the pilot training school has recently applied to have those terms changed to extend the hours of operation and remove the public holiday restriction.
In introducing the motion at Tuesday's council meeting, Cr Leo Hauville, said a report would be the best way for council to obtain the information, so it can make a decision to maximise income from the airport.
"Having gone through the internet, I've found there are lots of places that are switching over to CCTV, and there's a reason for it – it’s because Avdata doesn’t give a 100 per cent accurate record of all landings and takeoffs,” Cr Hauville said.
Avdata is a private company that provides billing, reporting, monitoring and access control services for airport, truckwash, water standpipe and other facilities across Australia. The company collects landing and takeoff data, bills the owner of the aircraft and returns a portion of that fee to the owner of the airport.
Cr Hauville told the meeting he had been phoned by a number of concerned citizens on Australia Day, so he contacted the acting general manager, Daryl Hagger, who directed him to council’s former economic sustainability manager Susannah Smith.
"I did contact her but the general manager also contacted the aviation college, and they said they would stop flying at 11. But I'm standing in my backyard and they were still flying over my home at 12.30 and 1 o'clock, and I was mystified that I could still hear flying after I was told by Mr Hagger they would be stopping at 11."
Cr Hauville said the school is currently operating under “see and be seen rules”, with some of the pilots attending a Civil Aviation Safety Authority training session in November at Port Macquarie, at which they were told it's not mandatory to make a radio call when taking off and landing.
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