[Peetwo]

GA sector being buried by overregulation and red tape?? -  

Via Oz Flying today:

General Aviation Sector Grounded by Red Tape and Sky-high Costs
10 November 2023



Red tape, over-regulation, spiralling costs and a vacuum of government policy are putting significant pressure on the general aviation sector in Australia, according to a survey of industry chiefs.

Ageing infrastructure, thin profit margins and conflicts over airspace allocation are all contributing to pessimism in the non-airline civil aviation sector that employs thousands of people.

In a new paper published this month in Case Studies on Transport Policy, aviation experts from Queensland and the University of South Australia (UniSA) outline the issues plaguing the industry, most of which come down to a lack of policy direction in aviation.

The sector includes training, aeromedical, emergency response and charter services in rural and remote communities.

Interviews conducted with the principals of 21 aviation organisations reveal that outside of regulation, the main concerns are the costs associated with operating premises and airport infrastructure.

“A user pays model to cover airport costs is having a direct impact on the sustainability of enterprises that are operating on low passenger volumes without a change in their overheads,” says lead author Dr Lucas Tisdall, CEO of Flight One Academy.

“There appears to be scant recognition of the community and economic contribution that the general aviation sector makes in Australia,” Dr Tisdall says.

Rising maintenance costs to ensure the safety of an ageing fleet of aircraft, smaller profit margins, and growing urban encroachment on airstrips, are other challenges.

UniSA Professor in Aviation Shane Zhang says the increasing popularity of drones used in a range of applications – from fire-ant mapping and fauna surveys through to real estate development and recreational photography – is also causing tensions.

“The emergence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of transporting patients and passengers introduces new risks,” Prof Zhang says. “Is the automation of such transport at the expense of pilot employment, involving a major re-engineering of international safety systems, worth the cost of development?” he asks.

Aviation chiefs say more federal government assistance is needed to support innovation and investment in the sector, given the average age of general aviation aircraft and the capital cost of new, cleaner technologies, before broader issues like CO2 emissions from aircraft are addressed.

The researchers say the feedback highlights both problems and opportunities.

“It is clear that the current policy and regulatory frameworks are not addressing the sector’s long term needs.

“Approximately 70% of respondents say there is no clear vision for general aviation in Australia, citing bureaucracy and over-regulation as major obstacles, but they are keen to consult with regulators to find common ground,” Dr Tisdall says.

The researchers intend to explore more effective regulatory regimes in the US and New Zealand, where governments and the general aviation industry work more closely.

Via Case Studies on Transport Policy - Volume 14

Seeking wicked problems, finding opportunities: Advancing Australian general aviation policy beyond COVID-19

Abstract

The efficacy and value of Australian general aviation policy has been the subject of strident debate. While a program of regulatory reform has shaped activity in the last decade, little documented evidence of coherent sector development or stimulus exists. The purpose of this paper is to highlight policy issues of contemporary concern to a sample of Australian general aviation stakeholders and to capture insights into their attitudes about the current policy environment. The paper presents the early qualitative findings from part of a longitudinal study into the sector, and initially asks whether the economic concept of ‘wicked problems’ represents a frame for understanding some of the impediments identified by the respondents. The results suggest that although there is a willingness to engage with progressive policy initiatives, efforts to resolve endemic and emergent issues are being compromised by the current bureaucratic engagement strategies in place to participate in industry planning.

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Introduction

Internationally, the issue of expanding aviation capacity to cater for an increasingly mobile global community creates planning tension. Recent studies have found that for the general aviation (GA) sector, the impacts are often even more keenly felt (Freestone and Wiesel, 2014, Tisdall et al., 2020). Experience during the COVID-19 global pandemic has further exposed a lack of planning efficacy for what is often considered the incubator of civil aviation capability (Tisdall and Zhang, 2020).

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) categorises the general aviation sector as ‘all civil aviation operations other than scheduled air services and non-scheduled air transport operations for remuneration or hire’ (Skybrary, 2020). In Australia, many operators characterised by this definition also conduct non-scheduled air transport operations by way of non-scheduled (charter) services as adjunct income source from capital invested in aircraft.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is the principal regulatory body for Australian aviation, charged with the administration of legislation in the interests of public safety. CASA’s own Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey for 2020 found that 46% of respondents were not satisfied with the Regulator’s performance across a range of measures (CASA, 2021). Evidence suggests that this body often experiences an adversarial relationship with its constituency (Carter Newell, 2014) despite periodic efforts to overhaul its culture and appeal (Thomas, 1997, Hurst, 2016). The federal government has previously acknowledged that industry efforts to achieve compliance with a perceived pariah regulator have compromised the capacity and the desire of operators to participate in broader policy engagement with the responsible Minister and their department (Kirk, 2002). Ongoing Senate enquiries (Australian Flying, 2019) and new appointments at CASA’s apex are among recent efforts to improve the outlook for Australian aviation (Creedy, 2021).

This article explores the historical difficulty of setting a cogent policy agenda for Australian general aviation, arguing that a more engaging model for consultation between stakeholders is necessary to maximise the planning outcomes for, and economic utility of, general aviation. The discussion focuses on Australia as an illustrative example of an ICAO member state with significant policy making power, a geographic imperative for a functioning aviation industry and a diverse set of issues impacting its GA constituency.

This research presents findings drawn from a qualitative sector enquiry as a contribution to efforts to align the experiences and focus of operators with the capability and intent of policy makers more closely. After initially surveying extant literature relating to the concept of ‘wicked problems’ and their possible presence as an impediment to GA policy planning, the paper introduces contemporary sector commentary as a way of highlighting difficulties for GA operators seeking to build enterprise value in a nebulous policy environment. Wicked problems are those multidimensional economic issues in which there is ‘no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution’ (Lönngren and van Poeck, 2021) Posing two overarching questions about the future of GA and its value as a tool for economic growth, this research utilises results from twenty-one in-depth semi-structured interviews to draw out issues that represent focus topics that can be utilised to galvanise stakeholder engagement in the near term.

The two guiding questions that frame this enquiry include:

Firstly, is evidence of wicked problems for policy planners currently observable?

Secondly, what do the industry’s stakeholders see as significant impediments to business success?

Focusing on the insights gained in this exploration may assist in the development of more robust and engaging policy objectives, with possible international implications for general aviation constituencies.

MTF...P2