Airline industry demands second Sydney airport
The New South Wales government has been called-out by nearly 20 airlines, investors and industry consultants, who say that a second airport in the Sydney basin must be fully operational by 2022, according to The Australian Financial Review.
The group's position rejects the state government's position that Kingsford Smith Airport can meet existing and future demand. They said the second airport is crucial to fixing Sydney's productivity and economic gridlock.
The industry group's support for a second airport being built at Badgerys Creek in Sydney's west also pressures the Gillard government to abandon its preference for a second airport to be built south-west of Sydney, while opposing the Badgerys Creek proposal.
The group reportedly issued their position to the federal Department of Transport and Infrastructure on November 22.
Airline and air freight representatives attended the meeting, along with infrastructure analysts from Deutsche Bank, the Future Fund Management Agency, Macquarie Research, Merrill Lynch Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank, according to the AFR.
Booz & Company, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Worley Parsons were also among the attendees. Those four companies were commissioned by the federal government in July to assess the viability of a second airport at Wilton, the federal government's preferred location.
According to minutes from the meeting, the group argued that Kingsford Smith is “closer to capacity than Sydney Airport Corporation Limited will publicly state, indicating its claim of being able to meet demand for the next several decades are unrealistic and rejected by the industry.â€
The minutes also noted that the “Airlines mentioned that it would be desirable to have a supplementary airport operational within a three to five-year time frame.â€
A spokeswoman for Sydney Airport said the airport's operator, which did not attend the meeting, believes the existing airport can meet demand until 2045.
The Badgerys Creek site supported by the airline industry is opposed by both the federal Labor and federal Coalition, the AFR added.