Canberra Airport's general aviation area could be moved from it's current location to the other side of the runway within the next 20 years.
The move was flagged in the Canberra Airport 2020-2040 Preliminary Draft Master Plan (PDMP) released late last week.
According to the PDMP, the GA section in Pialligo precinct west of the terminal may need to be relocated to the other side of the runway to either the Fairbairn precinct near the old RAAF base or to the newer Glenora precinct near the threshold of runway 35.
"With growth in recreation general aviation potentially conflicting with growth in regular passenger and freight operations in the terminal and Pialligo precincts," the PDMP states, "and with the provision of, and expected growth in, terminal support services, in these precincts, Canberra Airport will relocate this part of general aviation from the Pialligo precinct, east [sic] of the main runway, to Fairbairn or the Glenora precinct during the planning period of this 2020 Master Plan."
Canberra Airport also believes there is potential to attract a flight training academy that would be located in the new GA area and account for a rise in GA movements. The PDMP also hints that security requirements for GA could be relaxed with government approval if the GA area is away from the terminal buildiing.
However, the PDMP also notes that expected growth in passenger and freight movements could impede GA operations in the future.
"As Canberra Airport's traffic grows general aviation and other smaller aircraft may be restricted during times of high demand as higher capacity aircraft are given priority," the PDMP notes. "This is in line with practices at the majority of other major civil airports in Australia and overseas."
The PDMP is also predicting an expansion of regional and international RPT services, targeting links to Albury and Merimbula within five years and Griffith and Wagga Wagga within 10 years.
The full PDMP is available for download from the Canberra Airport website.