[COM] Adelaide Airport T1 Terminal | $260m
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When the Airport was to open in October I thought yay won't use the old one end of October to Brisbane - no go.
Then though will use it end of November to Darwin - no go.
Then mid December to Brisbane - no go.
Now off to Hobart tomorrow and again no go.
Each flight when I landed home have thought - well thats the last time on the tarmac - maybe this time I will be right.
Then though will use it end of November to Darwin - no go.
Then mid December to Brisbane - no go.
Now off to Hobart tomorrow and again no go.
Each flight when I landed home have thought - well thats the last time on the tarmac - maybe this time I will be right.
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ReallyBad wrote:When the Airport was to open in October I thought yay won't use the old one end of October to Brisbane - no go.
Then though will use it end of November to Darwin - no go.
Then mid December to Brisbane - no go.
Now off to Hobart tomorrow and again no go.
Each flight when I landed home have thought - well thats the last time on the tarmac - maybe this time I will be right.
Just off the topic, but the media has often fuelled the 'Adelaide is the only capital city where passengers still have to walk the tarmac'...
Well you'll be walking the tarmac in Hobart.
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Yes I did - but their fuel system worked without a hitch...Just off the topic, but the media has often fuelled the 'Adelaide is the only capital city where passengers still have to walk the tarmac'...
Well you'll be walking the tarmac in Hobart.
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Everybody should remember that this fuel problem is only temporary. It will be fixed and domestic flights will use the new terminal. It's just a matter of when. When it does fall into place, Adelaide will have the most efficient airport terminal in Australia and a much nicer gateway into the state. It'll be the first terminal capable of handling the A380 too (with widening of the runway lights). I bet that a year after all flights are transitioned to the new terminal, most people will forget about all these fuel problems.
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Milestone.
Main fuel line clean
05feb06
ADELAIDE airport's new $260 million terminal received its first good news in months yesterday with confirmation the troubled main fuel pipe has been cleaned.
It means airport officials might soon be able to set a date for the terminal to fully open for business.
Adelaide Airport manager director Phil Baker said he was confident Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Blue could soon operate from the new terminal once the fuel lines had passed final safety checks.
"Progress has definitely been made with the flushing of the main line and work has now moved to flushing the spur lines which supply fuel to individual aircraft," Mr Baker said yesterday. "The spur lines could be cleared early in the week.
"Everyone is hoping it (cleaning the spur lines) will happen and I'm keeping my fingers crossed."
International airlines – which are currently refuelling via tankers from the new terminal – would be the first carriers to use fuel from the pipes.
Domestic airline use of the new terminal has been delayed since October 12, the original opening date, because of contamination of fuel lines.
Mr Baker said the experience of numerous delays had taught him to no longer set concrete dates for the terminal opening.
Exxon Mobil, responsible for testing the safety of the fuel lines, said it would meet other aviation gas suppliers, Shell and BP, this week to decide if the system was operational.
"We are certainly making progress," Exxon Mobil spokesman Alan Bailey said yesterday.
"Once the OK is given the first aircraft to use the fuel lines would be the international carriers because they are already in the new terminal using tankers for refuelling."
Space limitations had so far prevented domestic flights to also refuel from tankers.
Qantas and Virgin Blue said they would need about five days once the all-clear was given to move into the new terminal.
"But we have already shifted as much equipment as possible and could have the job done sooner," Virgin Blue spokeswoman Amanda Bolger said.
The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union said it was no surprise the fuel pipes at the new terminal had consistently failed safety standards.
Union assistant state secretary Aaron Cartledge said during one site visit in August he saw pipe sections left unprotected in a trench during a rain storm. "It was pelting down with rain and I saw the water level was above the pipes which were lying in the trench," said Mr Cartledge, who said in November the terminal would not be open before February.
"The water was full of mud and slurry which was seeping into the unwelded pipe sections."
Mr Cartledge said at the time he wondered how "the mess" would be removed from the pipes once the water had receded and later raised the issue with management from builders Hansen Yuncken.
"They said the pipe contractors (Ottoway Engineering) hadn't done them any favours because the pipes hadn't been cleaned up before they were welded together," he said.
"There was pressure to get the job done and maybe they were hoping the muck would later be flushed out during cleaning."
Given the opening had now been delayed more than three months, Mr Cartledge said the decision to not clean the pipes before welding had been a crucial mistake.
Ottoway Engineering and Hansen Yuncken did not return phone calls seeking a comment on Mr Cartledge's observations.
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Onw would think that the Advertiser would be happy with the eventual opening of the airport. Even though we now have a world-class airport it is very dissapointing that the Advertiser is still finding something to whinge about. Maybe the people who write such ridiculous articles should travel a bit and then they will see that at an airport it is sometimes difficult to get a taxi.
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There's no news like bad news... especially near an election. Still, it's fantastic to see lots of planes parked at the gates now. Has anyone noticed (via the webcam) that the 'birds' seem to come home at night? That's when most of the gates are occupied. I saw a full house a couple of nights ago! 
BTW, does anyone know what's going to happen with the old domestic?
BTW, does anyone know what's going to happen with the old domestic?
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