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RECORD STRAIT TRAFFIC
DUE TODAY
66 Air Liners
By a Special Correspondent
jyjELBOURNË, Tues. - Sixty-six air-
craft will cross Bass Strait tomorrow
to cope with the abnormal Christmas Eve
traffic.
This will be the greatest commercial trans-
port undertaking ever launched between Tas-
mania and the Mainland.
A NNOUNCING this today, the
Director-General of Civil Avia-
tion (Mr Williams) said special ar-
rangements had been made to in-
crease safety, and at the same
time expedite the handling of holi-
day traffic to Tasmania.
A complete reorganisation of air
traffic control procedure in Tas-
mania has been accelerated to cope
with the Christmas rush. This new
procedure came into operation on
December 17.
Chief features are:
A A new area control centre es-
tablished at Launceston.
A New radio beacon installed at
Wonthaggi.
A Improved aeradio point-to
point network covering Tas-
mania, giving rapid communication
between Western Junction, Valley-
field, Wynyard, Cambridge, and
Essendon.
Q Increased air traffic control
staff in Tasmania.
New Control
Mr Williams explained in a spe-
cial interview this afternoon that
previously air traffic to and from
Tasmania had been controlled from
Essendon, an arrangement which
was becoming increasingly cumber-
some and unsatisfactory, even at
normal times.
Last October the Air Traffic Conr
trol Branch determined to establish
a new flight information region for
Tasmania, and post an experienced
flight checking officer at Launceston
to take charge of the area.
Mr Roy Player, a flight checking
officer at Essendon for six years,
has been appointed to the Laun-
ceston area.
This new set-up will have a
marked effect on improving air
traffic control, and will result in
greater accuracy, increased effi-
ciency, and a much more precise
estimating of arrivals at destina-
tions.
The most important feature of this
new control was the immediate re-
lief to the responsibilities of Essen-
don, which is Australia's busiest
airport.
Permanent Plan
Mr Williams, who pointed out the
unsuitability of Cambridge as a .
major airport to a capital city, said
the new procedures were operating .
smoothly in spite of the difficult air
weather conditions in the past few
days.
He stated that the Launceston
flight information region would be
a permanent part of Australia's
aid traffic control organisation.
Displaying the civil aviation map
in his office, Mr Williams showed
considerable optimism about civil
aviation developments in Australia,
once petrol and dollar restrictions
were removed.
Hè sent a special message of
Christmas greeting to Tasmania
A special call will be made at
Flinders Island today by a T.A.A.
air freighter, which will carry
Christmas goods and nearly two tons
of second class mail accumulated at
' Launceston because of interruptions
to the shipping service.
! The freighter will leave Western
Junction at 9.10 am and arrive at
1 the island about 10.10 am.
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