Aero club calls for landing fees ban

The Busselton Aero Club is calling on the City of Busselton to abolish landing fees at the airport, saying the fees deter visitors.

The City of Busselton charges $8.80 for light aircraft less than 2000kg to land at the Busselton-Margaret River Regional Airport.

Busselton Aero Club president Ross Beatty said the landing fees were unfriendly and deterred visitors from flying into Busselton.

“Nearby airports like Bunbury, Margaret River and Augusta do not charge fees, and if people are out cruising for a day they won’t go to the Busselton airport,” he said.

“It is a disincentive for privately owned aircraft to come to Busselton purely and simply for a visit.”

He said another disincentive was the parking fee for aircraft of $31 a day after the first six hours, which were free.

Mr Beatty said the landing fee was also resulting in a loss of tourism dollars for local businesses because people chose to spend their money elsewhere.

Busselton Aero Club immediate past president Peter Mitchell echoed Mr Beatty’s statements and said the large reduction in light general-aviation aircraft visiting the airport was affecting tourism.

“Prior to this decline, visiting aircraft parked in numbers at the airport were a regular feature,” he said.

“In addition to adding to the general vibrancy of the airport precinct, these visitors also brought much sought-after tourism dollars into the local community.”

City of Busselton director of community and commercial services Naomi Searle said the City had no plans to abolish the fees.

“Most airports charge landing fees and the city’s fee schedule is certainly not above other airports of a similar size,” she said.

“Landing fees contribute to the facility’s operating budget and provide an important income stream.”

Ms Searle said over the past few years there had been an average of about 5000 light aircraft landings per year, returning around $14,000 per year.

“Like most airports, the city’s airport operates on a cost-recovery model in order to reduce the cost impost on ratepayers,” she said.

Mr Beatty said although he did not have any figures to specify if there had been a drop in visitors coming in by aircraft since the fees were introduced, this could be seen through a drop in fuel usage.

“There has been a drop of about 35 per cent since before the landing fees were introduced and these numbers seem to be progressively reducing,” he said.

Ms Searle said the City did not think the landing fees discouraged tourists from coming to the region and said while the fees had been reduced in 2013, there were no current plans to abolish them entirely.

The aero club recently submitted a proposal to the City to remove landing fees for some non-commercial light aircraft.

The club fuels light aircraft under a lease arrangement with the city and proposed to offset lost income from landing fees through an increase in the fuel levy paid by the club to the City, but the proposal was not supported.

“If more aircraft came through, it would compensate for the cash coming from landing fees,” Mr Beatty said.

He said the club would not get any financial benefit from the landing fees being abolished and said it was concerned with bringing more business to the region.

“The Aero Clubs main interest is to promote the operation if light aircraft flying into our area,” he said.