The Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA) has slammed Dubbo City Council for applying screening charges across all operators, not just those that are required to screen.
A statement released yesterday called for the city council to rethink their policy.
"Dubbo City Council’s decision to apply screening charges to all operators, whether they trigger passenger screening or not, is unjust and should be repealed immediately. Dubbo’s decision is clearly out of step with the majority of local councils with RPT airports.
"The RAAA supports REX’s call for local councils operating airfields with Regular Public Transport (RPT) to understand and apply fairly the federal rules covering airport security screening.
"In short, the RAAA believes that if an operator is captured by the security regulations it is that operator alone who should pay for the security screening charges applied by the airport owner.
"It is clearly unfair that operators who are not required by law to screen their passengers should be asked to pay for the screening of passengers on larger aircraft."
The statement goes on to point out that the RAAA is working hard to try to revive services to regional and remote Australia, and that partnerships with local councils are critical to avoiding unfair and unnecessary charges.