iscover
The airport in northern NSW will be moving to controlled airspace next year, which Airservices says is part of its plan to foster “sustainable aviation growth” while modernising airspace at regional airports.
Rob Sharp, who left Virgin in 2019 as part of a management restructure, was CEO of Tigerair for four years before becoming Virgin’s group executive for airlines. After Virgin, he served as secretary of Transport for NSW from 2021–23, and will now serve a 12-month term at Airservices.
The ambitious system, designed to unite civil and military air traffic control across Australia, was originally conceived after a 2009 national aviation white paper but was later added as a 'project of concern' in 2017.
Civil Air union members voted in favour of the EA, which was agreed on in principle last month and will include an 11.2 per cent pay rise over three years, with all notified protected industrial actions now cancelled following the ballot.
The three-year agreement would give ATCs an 11.2 per cent pay rise as well as “significant improvements” to current conditions including allowances, and will be sent to staff for a ballot between 28 June and 3 July.
The project, to be carried out by principal contractor BESIX Watpac, will modernise the tower’s infrastructure, with Airservices estimating it will add an extra two decades to the structure’s lifespan. Construction will continue in stages through next year.
