FLIGHT ALLIANCE201706 | Page 49

T The Federal Government has bought most of the required land in a proposed site at Badgerys Creek, west of Sydney. This site would be accessible by the Westlink M7 motorway. Despite acquiring almost all the land necessary for the building of the Badgerys Creek airport, and multiple studies and reports commissioned that recommended building the airport, in 1995 new airport leasing legislation was blocked in the Australian Senate, and construction was delayed until after the 2000 Sydney Olympics. All the major Australian airlines, including Qantas, indicated they would prefer additional development of Kingsford-Smith Airport. In 1998 most local authorities reversed their previous support of the new airport and protested against potential noise and pollution impacts. After the 2001 terrorist attacks decimated the air travel industry, the national government announced its belief that the current Sydney airport could accommodate additional air travel demands for at least another decade. The issue of a second airport for Sydney arose again after the Rudd government was elected in 2007. Convinced that capacity at the current airport will be exhausted, it investigated Badgerys Creek, Wilton, Camden, Richmond and Canberra for feasibility, while Bankstown Airport was ruled out as being expanded from a light aircraft airport. On 15 April 2014, the Federal Government announced that Badgerys Creek would be Sydney's second international airport, to be known as Western Sydney Airport. Press releases suggest that the airport will not be subject to curfews and will open in phases, initially with a single airport runway and terminal. It would be linked to Sydney Airport by local roads and motorways, and by extensions to the existing suburban rail network. In May 2017 the Federal Government announced it would build (pay for) the second Sydney Airport, after the Sydney Airport Group declined the Government's offer to build the second airport. WELL THANKS FOR JOINING US IN AUSTRALIA , IN THE NEXT ISSUE WE WILL VISIT ANOTHER HUB AIRPORT BUT WE DON’T KNOW YET WHERE THE PILOT IS TAKING US. YSSY Sydney June 2017 www.alliance-airways.net 4 ! 9