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The CEO of the company that oversees slot allocation at Sydney Airport has criticised the government’s reported decision to hand the tender to a foreign firm.
Airport Coordination Australia (ACA), which has handled Sydney’s slots for the past quarter century, has lost the contract to London-based Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) for the next three years, as reported by The Australian this week.
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ACA has board representation from Qantas, Virgin, the Regional Aviation Association of Australia, and Sydney Airport itself. Its role in allocating Sydney slots was put out to tender earlier this year.
Speaking to Australian Aviation, CEO Petra Popovac said the government had made its decision based on poor information.
“Our company was formed specifically to allocate the slots at Sydney. I am incredibly disappointed that the Government would choose a foreign company to allocate slots at our biggest airport in Australia,” Popovac said.
“We have been a victim of scapegoating on a number of issues and it’s a shame that the Government listened to those incorrect narratives, and in my opinion, made the wrong decision for the stakeholders of the airport and the Australian public.
“The Government has sent Australian jobs offshore, jobs that are highly technical and are currently performed by Australian experts in their field.”
ACL, which manages slots at 75 airports around the world including London Heathrow and Dubai, is owned by a consortium including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and easyJet.
Popovac told The Australian that ACA will be seeking a review of the decision and the process behind it.
“We’ve been doing an excellent job for the last 25 years, and there is an Australian term ‘if it’s not broken don’t fix it’, and there is nothing broken here,” she said.
“We do an excellent job and we provide a much-needed experienced service to the aviation community and the wider community through our work.”
ACA was earlier this year criticised by former ACCC chair Rod Sims in the wake of Rex and Bonza’s collapses, accusing Qantas and Virgin of using it to box out competitors, a charge which Popovac vehemently denied.
“Bonza has never requested a slot in Sydney. Rex received many slots in the peak periods and handed some peak slots back as they had too many to use,” she told Australian Aviation at the time.
“Slots are not the issue at Sydney. Rod Sims has never communicated with ACA or asked any questions of us regarding the allocation of slots at Sydney, or anything else. In its 26-year history, ACA has never had any complaints against it.
“ACA allocates slots in an independent, neutral, and non-discriminatory manner. The shareholders have no say in the allocation of slots. The board is there to ensure that the company is financially stable.”
The office of Transport Minister Catherine King has been contacted for comment.
