BNE keeps front door to Queensland open while working towards recovery
Tuesday 7 April 2020: As the world faces the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), Brisbane Airport (BNE) remains open in a heavily reduced capacity, servicing arriving and departing passenger flights across both the Domestic and International Terminals, freight traffic, and emergency services.
BAC CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said BNE will remain predictable and reliable by reducing the overall size of its operations and focusing on core activities that are appropriate given the crisis during the coming period.
“It is more important than ever before that we keep the lights on and the front door to Queensland open, and we are committed to working with all our partners during this unprecedented time to support the community and work towards recovery.”
Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) is working closely with its airline partners to offer additional support, looking to accommodate up to 100 aircraft free of charge in response to government-mandated travel restrictions that have grounded a significant proportion of airlines’ fleets.
The decommissioning of the cross runway, Runway 14/32, was brought forward to create additional parking space for grounded aircraft.
“The cross runway was to be decommissioned in May as part of the Operational Readiness and Testing program for Brisbane’s new runway, but in these unprecedented times it was crucial that we do everything we can to support our airline partners, so we brought this process forward.
“We have created an additional 10 dedicated parking zones to accommodate the increased demand, including runway 14/32, Taxiway Papa (the original decommissioned runway for BNE), the logistics apron and various other aprons that have been modified to accommodate additional aircraft.
“Alongside the provision of aircraft parking free of charge, we are working with the airlines to offer support on a case by case basis to assist when and where we can,” Mr de Graaff said.
Aircraft have been parked in such a way that regular maintenance can be achieved and have been positioned in such a way that BNE can begin to ‘switch’ bays back on as/when needed.
“Despite the challenges we’re all currently facing, we should remain confident that recovery will come and that we must be ready to not only return to normal, but to prosper.
“Brisbane Airport is confident and standing ready to support the many industries reliant on 24/7 connectivity across Australia and the globe.”
