Control tower ‘best in Australia’

Broome now has Australia’s most modern, and the country’s only joint air safety and emergency response facility, after it was opened last Tuesday by Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese.

Mr Albanese said the $20 million multi-purpose facility was not only the best in Australia, it was as good, if not better, than any other facility in the world in terms of best practice and safety.

“It is likely to create a bit of jealousy around the country when people realise there is no better facility in Australia than the one we are standing in now,” he said. “And that’s as it should be. Forty thousand people visited this airport last year.

“It is the gateway to the Kimberley and the North West and is playing an increasingly important role due to the expansion of the offshore oil and gas industry.” After 14 months designing and building, government-owned Airservices Australia was proud to present the new air traffic control tower.

It stands more than 16 metres high and features the latest air traffic surveillance and communications technology, with “iPadlike” touch screens at controllers’ consoles. From the aviation fire station, fire fighters are equipped to respond to incidents within three minutes.

The station houses three Rosenbauer Mk8 ultra-large fire vehicles, each worth $1 million.

Broome International Airport manager Nick Belyea said it opened at a pivotal time in the airport’s history.

“The mix of passenger aircraft, heavy helicopters and general aviation will be safely managed by Broome Air Traffic Control and this facility is timely as industry grows in Broome,” he said.

“Although tourism is experiencing difficulty at present, as is pearling, we are fortunate to have an emerging industry in offshore oil and gas exploration, that will support and complement our base industries, and more importantly will contribute to retaining and growing our air services.”

Mr Belyea said Broome had attracted international services to Bali three times.

There was now a strong drive to connect with Singapore, just four hours away.

He said a high-level committee was working on this.