[Peetwo]

ASA waives charges for NFP aeromed operators - 

Via the Oz:

$2m gift for angels of air

ANNABEL HEPWORTH
Australia’s air traffic controller will waive more than $2m in yearly service fees for a group of aeromedical operators.

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Airservices Australia delivers $2m saving for aeromedical operators

Australia’s air traffic controller will waive more than $2 million in yearly service fees for a group of aeromedical operators in a move the Royal Flying Doctor Service says will allow donor money to “stretch even further”.

Airservices Australia will announce that the fees will not be charged for the five not-for-profit operators.

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Michael McCormack said the operators work was crucial to people who were based in rural and remote areas and said accessing their services “can mean the difference between life and death for people in remote parts of the country”.

“Aeromedical service providers operate across vast distances, harsh landscapes and in far from ideal conditions,” Mr McCormack said.

RFDS chief executive Martin Laverty said a $2m saving could fund 235 extra RFDS flights or fund 15 extra RFDS nurses.

“Donors work hard to raise money for our healthcare charity,” Mr Laverty said.

He said the plan was “great news for country people in the 90th year of the RFDS’’. The RFDS fleet includes the Hawker 800XP, the Pilatus PC-12, the King Air B350C and B200 C, and the Cessna C208. New Pilatus PC-24 jets will arrive this year for Western Australia.

Other organisations that would have the fees waived were Angel Flight, CareFlight, LifeFlight and Little Wings, which helps children with serious illnesses travel to their medical appointments.

Little Wings managing director Richelle Koller said the waiver would bring important savings for the charity.

“Obviously that means more flights for more kids making their way to the children’s hospitals,” Ms Koller said.

The NSW-based charity service recently gained a twin-engine Baron and is selling its single-engine Piper Malibu so that it can upgrade to a second twin-engine Baron. The service is based at Bankstown Airport and takes youngsters to the children’s hospitals at Westmead and Randwick, and to the John Hunter Children’s Hospital in Newcastle.

She said that with more than 55,000 registered charities in Australia, there were a lot of organisations doing “great work”, though that also meant it was “quite challenging” to raise funds.

The organisation relies on volunteer pilots and drivers. Airservices chief executive Jason Harfield said the organisation wanted to encourage an environment in which the aviation industry “thrives”.

“It’s why we place a critical importance on not being an economic or operational impediment to industry growth,” he said.

“Given these aeromedical operators rely on donations from ­individuals, organisations and businesses to sustain their operations, we are pleased to offer this support.”

Mr Harfield said the organisation’s “modernised” operating model had helped enable the ­announcement.

Harfwit: "...It’s why we place a critical importance on not being an economic or operational impediment to industry growth..."

Typical Harfwit trying to grab kudos for something that should have been automatically happening anyway - 


MTF...P2