THERE is nothing bigger than safety at an airport.
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It's a big concept with all-encompassing boundaries, from the security scan on the way in, through to a loose pebble on the runway smaller than your fingernail.
Tamworth Regional Council hosted airport staff from around the extended region this week for a safety forum where emerging trends and difficulties were discussed.
The day included a runway inspection where safety officers picked up foreign objects and debris which could pose a safety hazard.
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They finished the scan with handfuls of loose bitumen and loose bits of grass.
Tamworth airport reporting officer Len Klumpp said runway inspections were a big part of the day in his line of work.
"We make sure all of our runway lighting is working and make sure there are no cracks or any defects on the runway that is going to cause the aircraft any harm," he said.
He said all sorts of items have been found on the tarmac.
"Before planes have taken off, people have been on the phone and they have taxied out and they have left their phone on the wing or cameras or keys," he said.
"We get balloons and flowers blown over from the cemetery."
Mr Klumpp said huge safety hazards could come in very small sizes.
'The Concorde was brought down in the late-eighties in France and that was just a bolt about an inch long," he said.
"A bolt flew up and punctured the petrol tank of the aircraft and caught fire ... so it is a very big part of our job keeping FOD (foreign objects and debris) off the runways."
He said airport safety was a huge priority and an incredibly important part in the whole enterprise.
"People's lives are in your hands in a way," he said.
Tamworth airport manager Julie Stewart highlighted some emerging safety concerns to come out this week's forum.
"Some of the items raised today have been about wildlife and how we deal with that," she said.
"Managing bird and kangaroo activity, with the drought on we have been getting wildlife attracted to our pavements and aprons.
"Fencing can help the majority of it." She said drone technology could become an issue.
Flying drones in restricted airspace could attract criminal charges in some instances, Ms Stewart said.
This week also marked airport safety week in Australia.
But it is an ever-present theme at Tamworth airport with about 200,000 passengers passing through each year, Ms Stewart said.
"Every single aircraft that leaves Tamworth has one life on board, so we want to make sure every aircraft is safe," she said.