The head of aviation’s governing body has told procrastinating politicians to get on with the job of selecting a second airport for Sydney.
A failure to act now will lead to “missed opportunities”, said Tony Tyler, director general and chief executive of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Addressing the Aviation Press Club in Sydney yesterday, Tyler also urged the government to scrap the Passenger Movement Charge (PMC) as he argued there was more to gain from removing the tax than keeping it in place.
Tyler said “at some point” Sydney Airport would reach maximum capacity.
“We have two decades to select a site, sort out all the necessary approvals, acquire land, upgrade surface transport, get the airport built and, of course, figure out how to pay for it all,” he said. “That is not a lot of time for such a mammoth and important project.
“Australia needs to do business with Asia. But that’s going to be difficult if it does not have the airport hub capacity to facilitate the needed connectivity.
“Further procrastination will only lead to missed opportunities for economic growth. The challenge is to break out of the endless cycle of studies, make a decision and get on with it.”
Turning to the PMC, Tyler said “economic damage” was being done by the tax, which increased to $55 per passenger last year. The amount collected now exceeds the funding of Australia’s border agencies, the original intention.
“The PMC is effectively a tax that adds about 3.5% to the cost of travel from Australia,” he said. “It if were removed we would expect a 2.5% boost to traffic. That would add $1.7 billion to the Australian economy and generate some 17,000 jobs. So the economy has more to gain from removing the PMC than from keeping it in place.”
