Pilots angered by bold new plans for Essendon airport

Pilots have slammed moves by the owners of Essendon Fields Airport to narrow runways in a bid to make room for a giant shopping complex and offices.

Essendon airport is owned by Lindsay Fox and Max Beck and both men want more bang for their buck.

But the Airline Pilots’ Association says the only bang they’ll get under this plan is a potential crash.

The Age is reporting the master plan is virtually a mirror image of DFO, which sits next to the Tullamarine Freeway.

It also involves painting new lines on the runways, effectively narrowing them to make room for the development.

Pilots don’t want the proposal to get off the ground, saying it would compromise safety.

Public submissions on the master plan close today.

Marcus Diamond, from the Australian Air Pilots Federation, told 3AW it was a recipe for disaster.

He said he was “baffled” to learn about the plan, particularly given a report investigating how the Essendon DFO was approved still hadn’t been released.

A plane crashed into that DFO building in 2017, killing five people.

“You really shouldn’t be making any changes to this airport until that ATSB report comes out,” Mr Diamond said.

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