Bega Valley resident Emma says the outage lasted for at least 30 minutes. Photo: David Rogers Photography.
A South Coast council is being urged to install a second generator at a regional airport, after an aircraft was briefly prevented from landing.
Passenger Emma told Region the incident occurred during what seemed like a routine flight to Merimbula, on the NSW South Coast in late May.
After leaving Sydney, she said they were told shortly before 9 pm that the aircraft wouldn’t be able to land.
“When they told us there was a power outage [at Merimbula], that is when the pilot announced that we would be landing in Moruya,” she said.
Emma said she was also informed that Moruya’s airport, in nearby Eurobodalla Shire, had more than one generator on-site.
While the outage was restored by about 9:15 pm, and the flight landed as expected, she said it raised an important question.
“My post was primarily about highlighting the fact there’s a lack of a generator,” she said.
“I am part of the VRA [Volunteer Rescue Association] in Bega, so I do have a bit more exposure to first responder situations than I did before joining.
“I’m more cognisant now, particularly in natural disasters and situations like fires, of being able to get the support … It’s recognising that s–t happens.”
It’s an issue that she raised in a Facebook post, which has gathered almost 50 responses.
Emma said she wanted to raise awareness of what could happen.
“It’s certainly recognising that s–t happens, and power outages happen,” she said.
“They can happen from the wind, the fires, rain, or whatever, and making sure that you know we’ve still got the capacity with the airport to get people in and out.”
She believes that it would be money well spent and expand its use during emergencies.
“We get, obviously, that flying is reliant on the weather events at the time,” she said.
“They’ve gone and spent a whole lot of money on the Merimbula Airport and extending the runway, but they don’t have a back-up generator.”
In August 2025, the NSW Government awarded $5 million to extend the runway at both ends, bringing its take-off length to 1800 metres.
In response to questions from Region, a Bega Valley Shire Council spokesperson confirmed there wasn’t a second generator at the airport.
“Council has been working with Merimbula Airport operations to determine the requirements and logistics for provision of a backup power supply, which was identified as a risk prior to the recent power outage.
“This work is currently ongoing.”
The spokesperson also said the issue was part of a failure of the power grid in the Pambula area, without providing further details.
Emma said most flights into the coastal town ended smoothly – and she wanted to ensure it remained that way.
She remembers a flight being turned back to Sydney just once, during the Black Summer bushfires.
“It’s not like I flew [into Merimbula] six months ago and we had the same thing … It’s an ad hoc situation.
“But as people in the community know, we’ve all been through those bushfires, and we know medevacs happen from Merimbula Airport regularly.”
