From carrying out vital airfield inspections, to managing capital projects, the life of an airport civil engineer is a busy one. We spoke to Adelaide Airport Civil Engineer Jessica Westthorp about her love of infrastructure and her future ambitions. Can you explain your career journey so far? I’ve always had an interest in maths and science and my love of infrastructure led me to study Civil Engineering at the University of Adelaide ...
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As the Manager of Airport and Aviation Development for Tamworth Regional Airport, Julie Stewart has a wide range of responsibilities including operations, leasing, airport master planning, asset management and business development. Julie spoke to us about her industry experiences and the leadership lessons she has learnt along the way. How did you get your start in the airport sector? I had aspirations to work for the airlines for many years and ...
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Wendy Weir’s journey at Brisbane Airport Corporation started in 2005 – when the new runway was just in its planning stages. Now 14 years later, Wendy is the manager of Environment and Sustainability, and the completion of the runway is just around the corner. We spoke to Wendy about her career so far – from protecting rare species in the wild to dealing with environmental challenges in an airport context. How did ...
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You could still hear a tinge of disbelief in the voice of Townsville Airport chief operating officer Kevin Gill as he spoke over the phone. “These are pretty extraordinary times to be honest, ‘’ he told The Airport Professional. “In aviation, we’ve all seen natural events and disasters and managed those but, yeah, we were one of the flooded, our family, and it’s different when you’ve gone through it and when you ...
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When Sarah Renner was 12 years old, she told her dad she wanted to travel. She had made her mind up that she was going to be a flight attendant when she grew up. “He said why be a flight attendant, when I could fly the plane,” Renner says. The conversation had an impact. Three years later Renner could, in fact, fly a plane and has since enjoyed an extensive career in ...
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Sydney Metro Airports CEO Lee de Winton is building closer links with the local community at Bankstown Airport.
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The critical role of regional airports, leveraging robust traffic growth and capitalising on training opportunities are among the topics the Australian Airports Association’s new Victorian Division chair Katie Cooper has on her list of key issues.
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Gary McGivern says the myriad organisations working side by side at an airport is one of the great things about the industry – and also one of its challenges. As chair of the AAA Airport Operations Safety Network Group, he has seen firsthand how safety outcomes can be enhanced through good collaboration and a shared understanding of airport safety. So when deciding on the theme for this October’s Airport Safety Week, ...
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A visit to the East Pilbara town of Newman just a few years ago would have found an airport heaving with the ever-growing fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) workforce that characterised the mining construction boom. But when the boom ended, the Shire of East Pilbara saw a sharp decline in passenger numbers, highlighting the cyclical nature of the mining town. East Pilbara Manager Development Airports Salomon Kloppers arrived in the job right at this ...
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Paul Ferguson has a strong argument for why the Australian flight training industry should be taking up the opportunities stemming from burgeoning demand for pilots in South East Asia: the impressive development at the airport he runs. A partnership between leading flight training organisation CAE Oxford Aviation Academy and China Eastern Airlines has secured Moorabbin Airport a quality anchor customer that supports the airport’s long-term investments in aviation infrastructure.
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