beats me why they didn't divert to BNE or MEL? :eek:

That is the other million $ question

It's qantas budget cost cutting i guess lol

Yes well if they can avoid getting 200-300 hotel rooms then by all means I agree BUT as soon as they were denied a late landing at Sydney Airport then it should have been quite clear!

Why wait til 6am :confused:

Situations like this would not happen if the politicians grew some nuts and said goodbye to the cerfew.

It is about time that Sydney Airport moved into the 21st Century and became a full 24hour operation. If the people who live around the airport dont like it they can move, nobody asked them to move in under the flight path's and besides that the modern aircraft of today are much quiter than they were 20 years ago.

Yes QANTAS probably could have handled the situation better, but if it wasn't for the stupid politics the situation would never have arisen.

Remove the cerfew, situation averted and Sydney will finally move into the 21st centuary.

Bradley: My thoughts exactly, but I didn't want to bring that up

While I and others have blamed Qantas, and due to the curfew Qantas IS at fault here, the curfew is the real problem.

The A380 is pretty quiet, perhaps they should allow the A380 24 hour access ?

Agree. I can understand it being enforced but when weather delays flights (no fault of any airline), can't they be flexible and allow those flights to clear? The airlines ultimately foot the bill - thousands of dollars in hotel rooms etc for all of the carriers operating that day. It is embarassing to our city that we don't operate 24 hours but the fact they can't relax the curfew for situations the airlines have no control over is unfair.

As for those living in the flight paths, I am sure they would be keen to relax the curfew in this situation if they were on a flight or knew someone arriving.

In saying that, we would all agree QF could have handled the situation better if it occured again.

Weather may have contributed to QF32's delay - but isn't the real problem a management/operations decision to carry minimum fuel (not more permitting a diversion to MEL)? In this case, DOTARs can't be blamed for not giving QF a dispensation.

Although I'm inclined to agree that curfew dispensations due weather could be allocated fairly on the following basis:

- 34L arrivals only
- Dispensation period applies only to the duration of the cumulative delays since 1700 on that day.
- Delays defined as the time that ramp operations cease due storms in vicinity (which more or less corresponds with actual operational delays)
- Only applies to aircraft where forecast (TAF) deteriorated after departure.

I am flight path affected thanks to the changes implemented by the Howard Government, but do tend to agree with the above position.

I vehemently disagree with Bradley's position stated earlier. There were many of us negatively impacted by the 16L/34R opening. I moved to escape it, and then the Howard Government "shared" the noise over my previously unaffected house.....

Kent

that's what happens when you divert to a sub-standard airport & you try and bet against mother nature.

as for those living in the flight path, I reckon they'd just be keen to relax at 11pm after a long day of a/c noise.