Mount Beauty, Corryong and Mount Hotham airports secure crucial funding for upgrades to assist future emergency response

The many lessons to be learnt in better responding to the blazes of the magnitude experienced on both sides of the border beginning in late December are presently being played out in a Royal Commission.

Improved communications between volunteer firefighters in Victoria and NSW have to be close to the top of the priority list when findings are eventually handed and hopefully acted on before next summer rolls around.

But one positive to better position our region in battling future fires will be upgrades to airports at Mount Beauty, Corryong and Mount Hotham.

They were all smack bang in areas where some of the worst fires were experienced last summer.

The three airports are sharing in $41.2 million from the federal government's regional airports program with an expectation the state government will also contribute.

Mount Beauty airport will receive $1.55 million to lengthen and widen the runway to enable larger aircraft to enter and exit the facility.

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Upgrades to lights, drainage and helicopter apron, which are all crucial for emergency services around the clock, will also be carried out..

Mount Hotham airport will have its runway resurfaced and new linemarking to continue to meet CASA requirements with the help of $164,350.

Corryong airport will have a self-serve 24-hour aviation fuel facility constructed to assist medical air services in addition to enhanced firefighting capabilities with a $262,000 cash injection.

The improvements have been on the wish-list of local councils for many years, but higher priorities have often meant they have slipped off the radar when annual budgets are being crunched.

The improvements will also ease the pressure on Albury airport during major emergencies such as last year's bushfires and help fire fighting chiefs better co-ordinate resources.

All positive steps worth celebrating.