Black Saturday Bushfire - Airport Operations
The Black Saturday Bushfire period resulted in the busiest period of aviation in recent years with a 25% increase in the number of aircraft movements for February compared to previous years. The most readily recognised fire fighting aircraft to fly into and out of Essendon airport during this period was the very large and very orange coloured Erickson S-64 Air-crane Helitanker. Manufactured in Oregon, USA, the Air-crane is capable of carrying and dispersing almost 10,000 litres of water onto bushfires. Refilling of the water tank is done while hovering and takes a mere 45 seconds. Five air-cranes are transported to Australia each summer with two based in Melbourne, and Sydney, and one in Adelaide. At the cessation of the fire season all air-cranes are flown to Port Melbourne where they are disassembled, placed into shipping containers, and transported to Greece to assist with their fire fighting activities.
While Essendon Airport has always been the summer home of water bombing helicopters for Victoria, this year saw the airport become the hub for the transport of fire fighters. In all some 6,500 fire fighters flown in by charter operators from across Australia and New Zealand to assist with fire suppression activities.