The return of international flights to Canberra has stalled because Qatar Airways and the company that runs the ground facilities have failed to agree.
The Canberra Times understands that the glitch, which prevented the resumption of flights from outside Australia, centred on a specialist aircraft-pushing tractor able to shunt a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 across the tarmac.
The service was due to start at the beginning of October. Passengers had booked so they could board in Canberra and pick up their luggage at European or Asian destinations rather than having to take an internal flight and then check in for the international leg at Sydney or Melbourne. Arriving passengers would go through immigration in Canberra.
But Swissport, the global company which does the ground operations at Canberra, and Qatar Airways have failed to reach a deal. A spokesman said: "Swissport is in discussions to service Qatar Airways in Canberra but has not reached a final agreement."
It's understood that Qatar, despite selling tickets for its October Canberra flights, has opted for the December start so that a new tractor can be acquired.
On top of the physical machinery needed, staff have to be trained. That can take six months but it's understood that staff shortages at Canberra will be met by trained staff being flown in from other states.
Aircraft tractors cost millions of dollars. The ones currently in use at Canberra are designed for lighter-weight aircraft than the Boeing 777 that Qatar wants to use on the route.
Airports are essentially three different spheres of operation: the airport itself, the airline and everything else, known as ground operations, which extend from catering to baggage handling to check-in to the operations out on the tarmac.
The captain of an aircraft decides whether the plane is fit to take off but he or she depends on a raft of procedures on the ground to determine, for example, that a plane isn't too heavy and that the baggage is distributed evenly in the hold. These ground operations are carried out by the global company, Swissport.
The stal-mate in Canberra is between Swissport and Qatar Airways. The airport itself is a bystander in the negotiations.
On the upside for the airport - and for passengers who want to board international services in Canberra - the postponement from the beginning of October to the beginning of December seems to be because Qatar wants Swissport to get a new airport tractor rather than relying on older versions. This would indicate a commitment to it using the airport in the longer term.
While the Qatar service would have put Canberra back on the international map, Canberra Airport executives have also been negotiating with Singapore Airlines to try to persuade it to return but so far to no avail.
On the Qatar postponement, Canberra Airport's head of aviation, Michael Thompson, said at the time: "The delay of the once-daily service from Doha to Canberra via Melbourne is unfortunate, but we look forward to their return on 1 December and the restart of international services to Canberra."
The delay was a disappointment for airport executives who had trumpeted the return of an international service. When it was announced in July, airport chief executive Stephen Byron called it a "tremendous vote of confidence".
"This is a great first step and I think it's going to put the pressure on everyone else to start ramping up their international flights to Canberra."
