It’s been revealed that under new regulations imposed by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), East Gippsland Shire Council would be responsible for the height limit of trees on approach to the Mallacoota Airport, up to 15 kilometres away.
The shire allowed the airport to become de-certified earlier this year after CASA’s new requirements came in.
East Gippsland Shire mayor, Cr Mark Reeves, conceded  upgrading the airport to appease CASA regulations would be an impost of “millions of dollars” in order to ensure the airport complied.
Cr Reeves said the shire would have “difficulty managing tree height limits on  approaches to airport runways”.
“It’s a huge burden,” he said.
Cr Reeves said by way of example, upgrades to the Bairnsdale Airfield have been costed at $9 million in order to keep it compliant.

IMAGE: East Gippsland Shire Council is seeking an exemption to new regulations imposed by CASA, which has led to the airport being de-certified. K284-7577(2)