One in five Tamworth flights late, Armidale route most unreliable in NSW

The city isn’t alone, with almost one in five flights between Tamworth and Sydney arriving or departing late.

The data supplied by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics showed 29.5 per cent of Armidale-Sydney flights arrived late, with 27.30 per cent departing late, while 18.6 per cent of Tamworth-Sydney arrived late, with a similar number departing late.

NSW Tourism Minister and Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall said Armidale’s deviation from the state average of 22 per cent could be put down “almost exclusively to the unique climate issues” its airport faces.

“At just over 1000-metres above sea level, it’s the highest commercial airport in Australia, and with that brings and extra level of complications around weather,” Mr Marshall said.

“In winter, the airport is almost synonymous with delayed flights because of fog.”

Armidale Regional Council is finalising plans for a major upgrade that will include a second runway and an instrument landing system.

“That will allow planes to land in more adverse conditions then they can at the moment,” Mr Marshall said.

While Mr Marshall said global pilot shortage was playing a role in the delays, he also pointed the finger at the “archaic laws” governing Sydney airport.

“There is a 15-minute slot system, which often means planes are forced to sit on the runway despite having an clear a tarmac in front of them,” he said.

“Regional flights cop more delays. Rarely do they slow down interstate flights because that would impact more people.”

Tamworth councillor Juanita Wilson said the stats “just weren’t good enough”, but she was glad to see the city was performing better than regional centres such as Dubbo (22.5 per cent), Albury (20.6 per cent) and Wagga Wagga (19.4 per cent).

“Comparatively, we line up slightly better than other regional destinations,” Cr Wilson said.

“But from an industry stand point, one in five is not an efficient number. It’s a bit like the lotto – you’ve got a one in five chance of missing your appointment.”