Curfew Here to Stay
Date: 14 December 2009
STEVE GEORGANAS SAYS CURFEW HERE TO STAY
Federal Member for Hindmarsh, Steve Georganas, has reassured western suburbs residents that there will be no change to the Adelaide Airport curfew following the diversion of a Qantas plane to Canberra last night when it tried to land at 11:10pm.
“The curfew is serious and the onus is on the airlines to get it right and land on time” said Mr Georganas.
“Michael Pengilly from the Liberal party wants to get rid of the curfew. I reject this and so do my constituents.”
Under the Adelaide Airport Curfew Act 2000, an airline should not depart its origin airport if it knows it will not arrive in time to meet the curfew.
“If you start to make allowances for a ten minute dispensation, why not twenty minutes? Where will we draw the line?” Mr Georganas said.
“The curfew is the price we pay for the convenience of an airport so close to the city –it balances the needs of the local community with our broader transport requirements”.
The plane which was diverted to Canberra last night was denied dispensation as it did not meet the exceptional circumstances criteria, which state that the situation must be immediate in nature, unforeseen, and unable to be met by alternative arrangements.
