Aero clubs favour removal of services

Press, 2 November 1984, Page 37

Aero clubs favour removal of services

Aero clubs support plans to remove flight information and crash firemen from some airports. But they say their support is purely a means of ensuring the future of civil pilot training. The review of airport and airways user charges was started by the National Administration but has been continued by the Labour Government

The president of the Royal New Zealand Aero Club, Mr Bob Greer, said that changes in airways users and airport funding could force aero clubs off the airfields.

“If this happened aero clubs could be forced to conduct their training from privately licensed airstrips and only use the airport as a base,” he said.

Because the Government was obviously looking at ways to earn or save revenue, the aero club movement was coming out

in support of reduced services at certain airports. “We like having the services but I do not think the aero clubs can afford the alternative.”

The flight information officers in airport control towers could be replaced with automatic weather information equipment, and the technology was now available to let night-flying pilots work airport runway lights from their aircraft, Mr Greer said.

“We do not support the removal of the airport services as such, but as a cost saving measure to protect the future of civil pilot training in this country.” Mr Greer said that unlike many occupations, the costs of civil pilot training had to be borne by the pilot alone and to reach Air New Zealand standard could cost a pilot $20,000 or more. “The aero club movement has provided pilots for such operators as Air New Zealand, Mount Cook Airlines,

various third level airlines, and topdressing companies.” About 1000 students are

undergoing flight training in New Zealand, each paying - an average of about $BO an 7 hour for tuition, Mr Greer said. “Added burden on the costs incurred by the movement make it a sport reserved for the rich.”

Mr Greer said the present deliberations on airport and airways dues were intended to throw a greater burden of costs on local authorities and other airport user groups. “If the money can be found by removing these other services, we would support that.” The club movement was conscious of the need to keep costs under control and saw the proposed withdrawal of some services as a means of achieving this.

“The services are nice but we can do without them if itis going to cost us a lot of money.”