Alliance Aviation Services says it has signed a contract extension with BHP Olympic Dam for a period of three years with two 12-month extension options, permitting a full term of up to five years.
The extension will see Alliance continue to operate charter services for the BHP Olympic Dam mine site operations, in South Australia, as well as scheduled services supporting the local community of Roxby Downs.
Alliance has been servicing Olympic Dam and the Roxby Downs community since 2007 and, if exercised for the full term, by the end of this contract extension, will see continuous operations in support of Olympic Dam, by Alliance, of at least 19 years.
The contract will see the introduction of Fokker 100 jet aircraft, a 100 passenger seat aircraft, into Olympic Dam Airport to coincide with the significant upgrades currently going on at the airport, which are due for completion in February 2021.
The introduction of larger capacity aircraft will provide ongoing savings to both Alliance and BHP Olympic Dam, provide BHP Olympic Dam with greater scalability for future growth plans and provide greater comfort for all passengers, Alliance said.
Alliance’s Chief Executive Officer, Lee Schofield, said: “Alliance is delighted to be in a position to provide jet services into Roxby Downs. Passengers will enjoy a smoother, quieter and, more importantly, a quicker flight between Adelaide and Roxby Downs with a reduction of 20 minutes, or 25%.
“Since our first service into Olympic Dam in 2007, we have safely transported in excess of 1 million passengers with industry leading on time performance throughout the past 14 years. Alliance has also been an active participant in the local community with staff living in the local community and actively participating in local community events.
“We are also the largest provider of air charter services to the BHP group, servicing mines in South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.”
In May 2019, BHP presented Alliance with an Aviation Safety Award in recognition of the safe carriage of 3.5 million BHP staff and contractors on charter and scheduled services since the company’s first charter flight for BHP in April 2002.
