Captain Mark Hofmeyer has been flying with Qantas for more than 20 years.
At thousands of feet above the ground, he is responsible for the lives of at least 175 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 737-800 at any one time.
"Safety has been the mantra and the culture going back decades," he said.
As part of his pre-flight briefings, Mr Hofmeyer receives a Notice to Airmen, commonly known as a NOTAM.
These notices contain high-level data alerting flight crews of changes to facilities, services, or possible hazards during their flights.
This includes cautioning pilots if there's a reduced number of resources — such as aviation rescue and firefighting services (ARFFS) — on the ground.
Mr Hofmeyer, the vice president of the Australian International Pilots Association, which represents more than 2,250 workers, said this was happening more frequently in recent times.
"There's definitely been an increase in the number of times we see that the rescue firefighting service has been reduced," he said.
Firefighting services are stationed at airports around the country, and are on stand-by to rescue people and property from a potential crash, fire or other emergency.
Any changes to the number of staff on these shifts may have cascading consequences, Mr Hofmeyer said.
"It is an ultimate insurance to know that if I come to a screaming halt with my aircraft on fire that the firefighting service that's provided at that airport is going to be sufficient to allow me to get my passengers off safely."
Operating on shortages 'shouldn't become the norm'
Airport firefighting resources are assigned depending on the largest aircraft — and therefore passenger numbers — arriving and departing.
For example, the Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger aircraft, which regularly flies into Melbourne and Sydney. That means those airports should operate at the highest level: a category 10.
Under these conditions, there should be a minimum of 14 firefighting staff and three fire vehicles.
Others, like Coffs Harbour or Broome, can operate at a category six.
Under international standards, airports are permitted to operate at one below their designated category. This is known as the remission factor, which is governed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
"We just assume that the firefighting service that's provided is up to standard because we've got enough other stuff to be worrying about," Mr Hofmeyer said.
However, pilots and firefighters believe a combination of the remission factor and staff shortages have seen aviation rescue and firefighting services drop by one or more categories.
"What's happening now shouldn't become the norm."
Mr Hofmeyer said the industry should "always be trying to achieve that best practice of what's been nominated as the ideal category for that airport".
"There needs to be a plan in place to get us back to a situation where that is the norm, rather than the outlier."
Airport fire safety body disputes pilots' claims
Airservices Australia, the body responsible for rescue firefighters at Australian airports, disputes claims that resources have reduced.
"We have not reduced ARFF services at major airports and they are all operating as per the current aircraft schedules and required category with the exception of Cairns," a spokesperson said.
The federal government-owned organisation which operates at 27 airports, said flooding from Cyclone Jasper in December last year had impacted Cairns Airport's fire station.
It said firefighting services were operating out of a temporary location and a 24/7 service wasn't possible.
The ABC has seen pre-flight briefings from last month that show firefighting resources were reduced to category five at Cairns Airport.
During this time a Jetstar Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with capacity for 335 passengers — a category eight aircraft — landed there. The pilots on board were aware of the reduction in firefighting resources.
Airservices Australia said all airlines had been notified of the reduction to fire rescue services at Cairns.
"It is the operators' decision whether they fly into an airport where ARFF services are either reduced or not provided," a spokesperson said.
Works are underway on an alternate firefighting facility at Cairns Airport, which will allow the airport to resume normal operations next month.
Cairns Airport declined to comment.
Reduced services 'part of the deal'
Trevor Rogers, a recently retired fire commander, has worked at a variety of airports during his career, including Melbourne and Coolangatta on the Gold Coast.
He said the pandemic was the catalyst for change across the aviation sector.
"Staff numbers were reduced across the board and these category reductions would happen on a daily basis, pretty much all around Australia.
"It was always justified for whatever reason, but from an operational point of view, you knew very well that it was all just smoke and mirrors," he said.
Mr Rogers believes there may be times when a reduction in resources is justified because vehicles are unserviceable, or a crew member is sick.
"Once upon a time, if there was a category reduction, the bells would be ringing, there'd be questions asked. It was an absolute no-no, these days it just seems to be part of the deal," he said.
The nature of an emergency dictates how long air crews have to evacuate.
Mr Rogers has worked with Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Jetstar crews to provide "awareness" of what happens during these scenarios.
"Without trying to sound like doomsday — any commercial airline has a major incident around Australia — if there is a category reduction, potentially, the operational aspect of the job is going to be compromised because there won't be enough staff to perform the functions," he said.
In its 2022–23 annual report, Airservices Australia said it responded to 4,428 ARFFS call-outs in which 15 lives had been saved.
Ensuring safety into the future
In its 2022–23 budget, the Albanese government allocated $7 million to deliver an aviation white paper, which is due for release in coming weeks.
It will reflect on the sector's safety and efficiency to ensure service delivery towards 2050.
The United Firefighters Union of Australia (UFUA) was among the organisations to make a submission.
Wesley Garrett is the aviation branch secretary at the UFUA, which made eight recommendations to the white paper.
One of those recommendations related to the remission factor, which he said "allows the operation of large aeroplanes to operate at aerodromes where the services are inadequate for those aeroplane categories, and we see that as a serious safety issue".
In its 312-page submission, the UFUA, which represents 13,000 Australian firefighters, recommended the federal government review the country's adherence to the International Civil Aviation Organisations' standards.
"We need adequate resourcing, adequate vehicles that are able to allow our firefighters to properly respond to what would be a catastrophic event, which would involve hundreds and hundreds of lives," Mr Garrett said.
An Airservices Australia spokesperson said the remission factor was "not used on a day-to-day basis to allow service levels to be ramped up and down".
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) sets the safety standards affecting airport operations, and said it monitored the provision of ARFFS at Australian airports as part of its regular surveillance of Airservices Australia.
"We do not comment on specific surveillance events or findings, but we take action as needed to ensure the ongoing safety of the travelling public," a CASA spokesperson said.
Captain Hofmeyer said pilots were "always balancing risk" but a more permanent solution to the remission factor and staff shortages was needed.
"We've prided ourselves on being the gold standard in the aviation industry, globally. We need to make sure that what we preach is what we also practise," he said.
"The challenge is to stop making excuses, and eventually at some point you're going to get on with coming up with a plan to get us back to where we were."
Airservices Australia is currently hiring aviation rescue firefighters in New South Wales and Queensland.