Armidale Regional Airport has set aside a gate for flights that fall beneath the governments security screening threshold

As of July 1, a new departure gate opened for airlines that do not require security screening.

Under existing Federal Government regulations, security screening is not required of aircraft with fewer than 40 seats.

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Armidale Regional Council Mayor Sam Coupland said the cost for national security screening should not be borne by local ratepayers.

"We are fortunate with our new terminal to be able to modify an existing area, and we have partnered with REX and Link Airways to operationalise the new departure gate," Cr Coupland said.

"Other regional airports affected by the federal funding withdrawal have not been able to juggle the operational logistics as easily.

"REX and LINK Airways were offered the opportunity for their passengers to be screened, albeit this came at a cost.

"The fact that we have terminal space and maintain good working relationships means we were able to accommodate their needs, arriving at an outcome that secures a competitive market for air travel in our region and in turn, minimises any reduction in services or increase in costs to passengers."

Council will continue to advocate for a workable, long-term solution to the impact the current federal funding model has on maintaining security screening services at smaller regional Tier 2 airports generally.

The mismatch between federal government policies for increased aviation security versus the preference for local industry participants to sort out the cost as part of commercial arrangements is the crux of this issue.

"Because the Federal Government is no longer subsidising the security program, airports like ours, servicing smaller travelling populations are at a disadvantage," Cr Coupland said.

"This approach becomes difficult as the cost of operating screening services is borne by a relative few compared to metropolitan ports.

"If costs are ultimately passed onto the traveling community, it means proportionately higher airfares for regional travellers and these proportions are way out of whack. It's a cost that could ultimately affect demand for regional air travel and lead to a reduction in air services for many regional communities."

Rex's National Airports Manager David Brooksby welcomed the move by Armidale Regional Council.

"This is the only way to ensure that passengers of airlines like Rex do not need to pay an additional charge to subsidise the screening cost of airlines using larger aircraft," he said.

"Whyalla Council foolishly wanted to curry favour with Qantas and refused to facilitate screened and unscreened departures although the terminal could easily accommodate this, but instead slugged Rex's passengers with a security surcharge of about $40 to subsidise Qantas operations."

The South Australian council contacted The Armidale Express on July 5 to respond to the airline's criticism with a statement about the changes there.

In the statement Whyalla Mayor Phill Stone said he agreed with Rex Airlines that their exit from Whyalla was a blow for the residential and business community.

However, he said continuing to use the council as a scapegoat for their business decision based on Federal Aviation safety-related costs was unfair and misleading.

"Rex continue to use emotive statements to cast Council in a defamatory manner while ignoring the facts of the situation," Cr Stone said.

"This is not about favouring one airline over another, quite the opposite in fact - we passed on the Federal Aviation safety screening costs to both airlines evenly. Rex chose to exit without trying to implement the increased costs, while Qantas has demonstrated its commitment to the Whyalla community by maintaining and increasing its local services.

"We will continue to work closely with the broader airline industry to explore options to help minimise the impact of Rex's decision and ensure a competitive local airline market."

He said unlike Armidale, Whyalla Airport has a single gate, making any such alterations significantly more complicated and expensive, so he said it was misleading to compare the two airports.

In response to the council, REX Airlines emailed the Express on July 6.

"Rex, more than any other party in Australia, has the most experience in screened and unscreened departures from regional airports and we are intimately familiar with the modifications needed," Mr Brooksby said.

"We have given a suggestion to (Whyalla) Council of a workable solution that would involve works of less than $10,000. This would alleviate the need for Rex passengers to subsidise Qantas operations to the tune of half a million dollars annually."

"Furthermore, when the current Whyalla airport terminal was at the design stage, Rex requested that Council have two departure gates and this request was ignored."

"Council's assertion that modifications are expensive is deceitful and deceptive, calculated to hide the secret agenda that it has."

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