The Mackay Port Authority is urging Mackay residents to closely examine the variety of trees they plant in their yards.

The MPA is about to embark on another tree lopping program in South and West Mackay to ensure its runway operations meet the strict requirement of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

This view is taken from the Mackay Airport and shows the trees that need to be lopped. The trees have been identified as posing a potentail hazard to aircraft in an emergency.

The airport is subject to a detailed technical and safety inspection each year. Part of its licence requirements involve a survey of trees that fall into a 15 kilometre flight path corridor from the end of each runway.

Mackay Airport operations co-ordinator Ray Waters said a number of trees have been identified as being a potential hazard in an emergency and now must be lopped.

“It’s not a cheap exercise. Lopping a group of mature fig trees in Perry Street will exhaust our annual tree lopping budget,” he said.

“Aircraft safety is paramount and the work must be done.”

Mr Waters said a number of other trees in the same area would also be trimmed or lopped.

“We are appealing to people to use a little commonsense and think about the trees they plant in their yards as some palm trees can pose a real problem in a very sort time,” he said.

“If they have any doubts please contact us, we’re more than happy to give advice, but people must understand that this flight path corridor must be kept free of obstructions.

“CASA regulations require us to look at a worse case scenario in an emergency and history has revealed that as little as 18 inches can prove the difference between an aircraft landing safely or a tragedy.

“There is no guess work. Surveyors use a precise formula that calculates the height of the tree in relation to the distance from the runway and if that falls into this safety corridor, then in the interest of safety, action must be taken.