The association’s executive director Ben Morgan said it was ridiculous to consider selling the airport. 

The concerns came after the George Town Council announced an intent to sell. 

“The first thing that tends to happen is that we see the costs of operations to aircraft owners, pilots and aviation businesses soar,” he said. 

Mr Morgan said having an airport was no different to the other roads councils maintain. 

“From an accounting perspective they set the airport up as an accounting business and very quickly learn that it costs them money to run it. They say ‘we should get rid of it because it’s not generating income’,” he said. “I wonder if you applied the same thinking to the roads that the council look after how the ratepayers of the region would accept that.”

Councils get away with selling airports because most people don’t think it serves their community, he said. 

“The airport was used last summer for fire fighting purposes. Are the ratepayers prepared to accept that the airport could end up in private hands and then those firefighting services will have to pay and use the facilities. The ratepayers pay for the firefighters,” he said. 

“The value of an airport only tends to become headline news when there is a major bushfires and the fire service use it as a base, or in major medical evacuations.”

Mr Morgan said potentially selling the airport to a private owner was ridiculous and short-sighted.

“Privatising or selling off the airport will destroy access for aviation and destroy the asset and the local community will suffer because of it. Because once you lose an airport you never get it back,” he said.  

He urged the council to rethink its strategy and to approach the association to discuss how the airport could be made more cost effective.  

“The ratepayers of your area should be screaming at the council right now.”