Canberra Airport's chief executive, Stephen Byron, admits his site is not the best solution to Sydney's demand for a second airport, but is pragmatic about it being the most likely political option for the NSW and federal governments.
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''It is the best solution once the others fall over,'' he said.
Meanwhile, the ACT will work ''collaboratively'' with NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell on transport infrastructure but has stopped short of supporting his call for Canberra to become Sydney's second airport.
ACT Treasurer Andrew Barr said last night the question of Canberra Airport being used as a location for a second Sydney airport was ''hypothetical'' given the federal government preferred the harbour city.
His cautious comments came after the territory's aviation taskforce met for the first time yesterday and said it was confident of securing direct flights between Canberra and New Zealand next year.
The taskforce, chaired by Mr Barr, will now prepare a business case to be put to airlines later this year for direct Canberra-New Zealand flights, to start as early as March.
Mr O'Farrell has repeatedly ruled out a second airport in the Sydney basin and publicly backed Canberra as an alternative that would be linked to Sydney by high-speed rail.
His support for Canberra over a site closer to Sydney has been criticised by federal Coalition MPs and federal Transport and Infrastructure Minister Albanese.
Mr Byron has welcomed the NSW Premier's support for a high-speed rail link between Sydney and Canberra and says his airport is well-placed to accommodate Mascot airport's overflow.
However, he believes Sydney would be better served with a second airport at Badgerys Creek or Wilton.
''We support a fast rail connecting Sydney to Canberra airport and this will be a solution for Sydney's airport problem,'' he said. ''And whilst it would be better to build at Badgerys Creek, given the Commonwealth government owns the land and the employment base it will provide, 40 years of political history tells us that it is unlikely that governments will ever build a second airport in the Sydney basin.''
Mr Byron fears that if the state government approves a housing development at Tralee near Queanbeyan, this could threaten Canberra Airport's 24-hour operation and lead to the introduction of an aircraft noise curfew.
This could defeat the purpose of Sydney's intention to use Canberra Airport as an overflow because it would potentially prevent it from taking more night-time flights. Sydney Airport is under curfew from 11pm to 6am.
The Liberal MP for Monaro, John Barilaro, said the Tralee development would not adversely impact on Canberra Airport's future development and should be approved.
The Planning Minister, Brad Hazzard, said he needed to weigh up whether a balance could be struck between ''the airport's view that there should be no development and the alternate view from those who support Tralee''.
''It is extremely complicated,'' he said.
