ALBURY pilots will continue to fly from tomorrow, despite a new law that would ground them.
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They are among thousands of pilots Australia-wide still waiting for identification cards that, under new security laws, they must carry to access airports — such as Albury — that have airline services.
Most applied before November.
Erik Mol, of Air Centre Albury, said yesterday none of his company’s seven pilots had received the aviation security identification card, but would continue to fly.
“This is our business,” he said.
“It’s not our fault the system can’t cope.”
Mr Mol sought his card in July last year, was told in October his form had passed security checks and was “in the system” — and in November he was told there was no application under his name.
He had to submit a second application.
Mark Riley, chief flying instructor at Zauril Aviation, said training would continue, although his pilots had not yet received their cards.
“The industry would ground to a halt,” he said.
Private aircraft owners are also planning to defy the requirement — which they can do easily at Albury with no one regularly checking they are carrying a security card.
One Albury owner, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s not going to stop me flying.”
Another said: “I don’t need a security card to take my own plane out of the hangar.”
The security checks, which involve the Australian Federal Police and ASIO, were ordered by the Department of Transport in response to the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001.
The department then made the Civil Aviation Safety Authority the issuing agency.
There are about 15,000 pilots, although not all have applied.
But checks on flight engineers, ground crews and baggage handlers have swollen the task to about 65,000.
CASA is charging pilots $135 to $145 for the cards.
Pilots who fly without a card risk a $550 fine.
The authority said on Tuesday it had processed 7000 cards.
Transport Minister Warren Truss said the next day 10,000 applications had been processed.
He said CASA was expediting the checks and most pilots would receive their cards by today.
Pilots operating out of general aviation airports such as Corowa or Wangaratta do not need security cards, unless they want to land at Albury or any other airport with airline services.
This means that while pilots who live in Albury need security checks, pilots using Moorabbin — a short flight from central Melbourne and Tullamarine and Essendon airports — do not.
