ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
Nearly ten thousand fed up Sydneysiders have taken to the streets this afternoon to voice their displeasure at the constant closure of their airport.
The Keep Sydney Airport Open movement has seemingly sprung up over the course of the morning as Sydney Airport suffered a technical air traffic control issue today which resulted in a number of cancelled flights, delays and inconvenience.
Leading the charge is Asterix Pynchon, a marginally-employed youth person, who says he’s sick and tired of seeing his airport closed for trivial reasons like strong winds and computer bugs.
“It’s not acceptable,” said the 37-year-old salesman.
“Pilots are paid like hundreds of thousands of dollars and they’re basically just glorified bus drivers. God forbid they actually have to do something like I dunno, maybe fly the plane? Yeesh!”
“Anyway, the young people of Sydney have spoken and their voice is loud and clear! Keep Sydney Airport Open! No more closures! No more nanny state! Make houses cheaper!”
However, the chief operating officer at the Sydney Airport Corporation has been sufficiently offended by the ignorance put forward by the Keep Sydney Airport Open campaign that he feels the need to respond.
Glenn Hutchinson has been running the day-to-day operations at Kingsford-Smith for close to a decade and he told The Advocate that the decision to close the airport to arrivals and departures is not taken lightly.
“I mean, come on,” he said.
“When the weather conditions exceed the design limits of the aircraft, it’s simply unsafe. Would you rather be mildly inconvenienced or be burned alive inside an upside down Airbus?
“Personally, I find the thought of being doused in aviation fuel and set alight to be quite unpleasant. However, you do have people who think the world revolves around them.”
More to come.
