Airlines Wary Of Aerobridges At Sydney
By Roger Maynard
SYDNEY, Australia, 28 March 2001 -- Some airlines are reported to have stopped using Sydney Airport's new aerobridges in a few instances, following concerns about their safety.
It emerged yesterday that the collapse of an aerobridge serving a Singapore Airlines jumbo jet two months ago was not an isolated incident.
The jet suffered thousands of dollars in damages when a passenger door was ripped off its hinges.
An Air New Zealand plane was also affected only a fortnight ago and there have been several reports of other recent malfunctions involving aerobridges.
A spokesman for Singapore Airlines in Sydney said the airline was still waiting for the result of an investigation into the incident involving the 747.
The plane had to remain in Sydney for two weeks while Boeing engineers were flown in from Seattle to carry out the necessary repairs.
'It's fortunate there was no one on the aerobridge at the time, otherwise it could have been a lot worse.
'Now we just want to know what exactly happened,' said the spokesman.
Many airlines are believed to be so concerned about the safety of the aerobridges at Sydney Airport that they have banned their use on some occasions.
Said one airline source: 'We want to know whether it is a manufacturing fault or human error; but either way it's causing a lot of inconvenience and worries about safety.'
The chairman of the Airline Operators Committee, Mr Neil Shackle, said some of his members wanted additional staff on standby while aerobridges were used in case further problems occurred.
He said that there had been more than two such incidents at the airport.
They appeared to be linked to the newer-style aerobridges bought as part of the airport's A$600 million (S$534 million) re-fit before the Olympic Games.
The safety row has come amid a general souring of relations between airlines and the Sydney Airport Corporation over rising charges.
Source: The Straitstimes Interactive, Singapore
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