The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) strives to continually improve aviation weather forecasting. That’s why next week, it will open the first of two new Aviation Forecasting Centres (AFC).
This new Brisbane Centre will be responsible for aviation forecasting for northern Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland. The second aviation centre, based in Melbourne and due to commence in June 2020, will cover aviation forecasting for the southern regions of Australia.
Using the bureau’s continually improving observational network and staff expertise, aviation meteorologists located in the new AFCs will now accurately track weather systems across Australia. There will be no change to the overall number of meteorologists employed and aviation operators across Australia will receive an improved quality of service, no matter where they are based, through improved technology and a dedicated aviation meteorology team.
Contact details
With the Brisbane AFC coming online from 25 July, the bureau has updated the contact details for its aviation desks:
| Region | Aviation Desk location | Phone Number |
| QLD North | Brisbane AFC | 07 3239 8721 |
| QLD South | Brisbane AFC | 07 3229 1854 |
| WA North | Brisbane AFC | 08 9263 2259 |
| WA South | Perth* | 08 9263 2255 |
| NT | Brisbane AFC | 08 8920 3814 |
| SA | Adelaide* | 08 8366 2773 |
| NSW-W | Sydney* | 02 9296 1527 |
| NSW-E | Sydney* | 02 9296 1526 |
| VIC | Melbourne* | 03 9669 4850 |
| TAS | Hobart* | 03 6221 2026 |
* These services will transition to the Melbourne AFC from June 2020.
Note that Western Australian services are split geographically between north and south. Your call will be answered and transferred to the appropriate office. Calls for all aviation desks in other states will divert automatically to the new Brisbane AFC.
New contact numbers will be published in Aeronautical Information Package (AIP) in November 2019.
More information
Information on Aviation Meteorological Services Transformation is available on the Bureau of Meteorology’s website at www.bom.gov.au/aviation/aviation-transformation
If you have any questions about the coming transformation, please contact:
- Aviation_Transformation@bom.gov.au ; or
- Brett Anderson, General Manager – Aviation, Land and Maritime Transport, at Brett.Anderson@bom.gov.au.
I’d like a dollar for everytime they have been totally wrong!
Was in a que one day awaiting our turn to launch out of ML, finally got airborne and within 5 mins we where all told (those now airborne) hazard alert on SY, expect lengthy holding into Syd. Nothing forecast at briefing. We turned back, didn’t have fuel for beyond the usual SY holding. I simply don’t trust the BOM!
Another time flying along blw 10K in my private plane past one of the NSW large towns and overheard center telling a REX flight fog at at that drome ( can’t recall the actual place), I shook my head, both dromes where clear as a bell!
If it was easy Walter, they would be 100% accurate. I find they are fairly accurate most of the time .Weather forecasting is not an exact science ..very complex.
Walter. I’m not sure that in aviation there’s an alternative to doing weather forecasting. Got any ideas?
I do my research, I get well informed before I launch, the BOM are simply not good enuf!
Pray tell what is your secret Walter.?
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