Barcaldine residents will be without a direct air service for at least the next three weeks, due to issues with the town’s airport runway seal.
Qantas suspended all flights into Barcaldine last Thursday after a Qantas engineer inspected the runway.
Barcaldine Regional Council mayor Rob Chandler said a solution was being worked on that he hoped would bring it back online within three weeks.
“It has been going on for a while,” he said.
“We did an upgrade nine years ago but in the meantime QantasLink went to Q400s, which are fairly heavy, and the nose wheel has been breaking into the seal.
“It’s happened a few times and we’ve tried brooming it off.”
Cr Chandler took advantage of Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey being in Barcaldine last Thursday to bring the matter to his attention and said the government would be sharing the $400,000 cost of repairing the runway.
“We are planning to put a slurry seal on,” he said. “We think this will last for eight to 10 years.”
In the meantime, local users will be ferried to Longreach and back by bus to meet the plane.
The bus will leave from Barcaldine News at 12.15pm on Tuesdays, 12.15pm on Thursdays and 9.15am on Saturdays, and will remain in Longreach to meet the incoming flight and to return passengers to Barcaldine.
In the meantime, other users, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service, are continuing to use the strip.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
