CASA is studying the effects of introducing civilian operations at RAAF Base Richmond as part of an analysis of the short-term future of Sydney’s airspace.
The study will look at a forecast period of five years to evaluate proposed changes including the integration of Bankstown and Camden airports into the current airspace architecture and the possible introduction of limited commercial services at Richmond.
The Federal Government has flagged civilian use of Richmond as a potential way to relieve overcrowding at Sydney’s Kingsford-Smith Airport, a possible stop-gap as the government meanwhile moves ahead with a detailed study of a proposed site for a second Sydney airport in Wilton.
CASA said its study would not consider the implications of a second airport at Wilton since such a development falls outside its five-year timeframe, nor will CASA look at Sydney Airport’s long-term operating plan or its government-imposed aircraft movement cap and curfew.
“This is part of routine work undertaken by CASA’s Office of Airspace Regulation, with the objective being to ensure appropriate airspace arrangements are in place,” CASA Director of Aviation Safety John McCormick said in the organisation’s monthly newsletter.
