Former Airservices chief executive Greg Russell has been named as the new honorary chair of The Australian Aviation Associations’ Forum (TAAAF).
Russell replaces TAAAF’s inaugural chairman Chris Manning, who has held the post since 2008.
The appointment was made at a gathering of TAAAF members, which comprise the peak bodies of the aviation sector in Australia under one banner, in Canberra on Thursday.
“Greg Russell was unanimously endorsed by Forum members and brings a strong background in management, aviation services and knowledge of the agencies involved in the regulation of aviation in Australia,” TAAAF said in a statement.
In addition to his almost seven years as Airservices chief executive, Russell also previously worked at Sydney Airport as director of aviation safety, at Athens Airport as chief operating officer and was general manager at Hazelton Airlines.
He currently does some part-time consultation work in the aviation industry.
Meanwhile, TAAAF also met with Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) chairman Jeff Boyd and director of aviation safety (DAS) Mark Skidmore in Canberra and pressed its case for the regulator to continue to improve consultation with industry.
The forum called for “urgent decisions that would create win-win scenarios for industry and safety”, including among other matters deferring the implementation date for flight and duty time regulations, simplification of Part 61 and requirements for maintenance of small aircraft, as well as addressing the new costs being imposed by new Parts 141/142.
