The Civil Aviation Safety Authority review of the airspace surrounding Ballina Byron Gateway Airport did not include data for aircraft transiting the airspace without using the airport. Therefore, the risk associated with occurrences such as this one were not specifically considered when assessing the appropriate airspace classification.
The safety issue is pending the outcome of safety actions to be completed by CASA
On 28 January 2021, the Ballina Airport broadcast area was expanded from a radius of 10 NM to 15 NM, excluding a section defined by a 30 NM arc from the Gold Coast distance measuring equipment. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) stated that the purpose of this change was ‘to reduce residual airspace risk in the vicinity of Ballina’.
On 20 December 2021, CASA advised the ATSB that the most recent Ballina Airport airspace review (expected to be completed in February 2022) utilised Airservices Australia data that included transiting aircraft, but that it was limited to aircraft that had submitted a flight plan and/or been detected by secondary surveillance radar. CASA also advised that a new initiative by the Australian Government aimed to increase the uptake of automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) equipment in general aviation, through a rebate to eligible aircraft operators, would improve aircraft detection.
On 28 January 2021 CASA advised that, while it had considered readily available data for transiting aircraft in airspace review risk assessments, it was also developing an airspace risk modelling system (ARMS). According to CASA, this new system was expected to be implemented in March 2022 and provide an enhanced capability to consider transiting aircraft using a historical database of flight trajectory data.
The ATSB acknowledges the proposed safety action, which has the potential to adequately address this safety issue. As this will largely depend on the conclusions of the current Ballina Airport airspace review and the effectiveness of the new ARMS, the ATSB will monitor and assess their effect on the safety issue.
On 12 August 2021, a surveillance flight information service (SFIS) began operating within the 15 NM Ballina Airport broadcast area. The SFIS, provided by Airservices Australia on the shared common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), replaced the certified air/ground radio service. The service is available to all aircraft within the Ballina Airport broadcast area between 2200-0800 coordinated universal time.
The SFIS is not a separation or sequencing service, and pilots remain responsible for complying with all regulations and responsibilities applicable to operating in non‑controlled Class G airspace and on the shared CTAF.