The operator of Bankstown Airport has moved to reassure tenants and pilots that it has no plans to convert the site to residential use, following media reports that owner Aware Super had explored a proposal to redevelop the airport as a housing development of up to 30,000 homes.
In a statement to customers, Aeria Management Group said it was aware of the media speculation and wanted to provide direct reassurance.
"We have no plans to convert any part of the airport to housing," the statement said. "Our focus remains the ongoing long-term operation and growth of the airport, as an essential general aviation and economic and employment hub."
Aware Super also moved to clarify its position, stating to Australian Flying that the terms of its lease are clear and that it remains committed to operating Bankstown Airport as an airport.
"Since 2015, Aware Super has been a significant investor in Bankstown Airport through its ownership of Aeria Management Group, and remains committed to the site's long-term development as an important piece of infrastructure for the local community, emergency services and the broader Sydney basin," the spokesperson said.
The fund said it had invested more than $450 million in the precinct over the course of its ownership and that its investment in Aeria had generated strong returns for members. "We have no plans to transfer the lease or divest the asset," the spokesperson said.
Aeria said it was currently drafting the next Bankstown Airport Master Plan, a 20-year vision for the airport consistent with current uses, and pointed to more than $25 million in recent taxiway and runway upgrades. A new hangar opened at Site 606 in March and construction of another new hangar commenced last week.
The reassurances follow a Sydney Morning Herald report revealing that Aware Super had explored the conversion concept with relevant governments, with some senior NSW government figures said to be actively supportive. The proposal would involve extending the Bankstown metro line by at least one stop to service the redeveloped site.
The federal government, which owns the land, said it was aware of the idea but played it down. A spokesperson for Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said Bankstown Airport continues to play an important role in facilitating light aircraft movements, air ambulance services and pilot training, and that the current master plan does not allow for residential redevelopment.
The Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia had called for urgent clarification following the SMH report, with president Lachlan Hyde rejecting any suggestion the airport was surplus land.
"Bankstown Airport is not surplus land," Hyde said. "It is the engine room of general aviation in New South Wales and a critical part of Australia's aviation training, emergency services, maintenance and workforce ecosystem."
RFACA noted that Bankstown's three parallel runways, a unique configuration in Australia, allow simultaneous circuit training, arrivals and departures, and that the airport's location near the geographic centre of Sydney is central to its value for emergency services and aeromedical operations.