President of the Mudgee Aero Club, John Radford said the bowser was operated by BP Australia and the company advised the club that the underground tank had deteriorated and rust and dirt were showing up in fuel samples.

“The tank is 20 years old and has reached its scheduled use by date.

“BP intends to remove the tank, inspect the ground for any contamination and make restitution if required but it will not be replaced.”

Mr Radford said he believed BP’s decision was based on low usage figures for the facility.

“One of the reasons usage is low could be that Mid-Western Regional Council charges landing fees when other nearby airports such as Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo do not,” he said.

“Council collects between $40,000 and $50,000 per year from landing fees which contribute to the maintenance of the airport.”

Local businessman, Keith Doolan said he would need to fly a round trip of an hour and a half to refuel his plane should the facility be removed from Mudgee airport.

“Effectively that means it would cost me over $200 just to refuel.

“I regularly fly between Mudgee and Brisbane. The loss of a fuel station at Mudgee would add over an hour each way to the trip.

“That’s because I would need to stop on the way there and on the way back to refuel,” he said.

Recent statistics released by the NSW Department of Transport show that commercial air traffic into Mudgee is on the increase.

Operator of the service, Air Link has put on more flights and larger planes to fill demand and regularly refuels at Mudgee.

Mr Doolan described the decision by BP as disgusting.

“It is not taking into consideration the effect this could have on emergency services and growth of the airport.

“I am hoping the council will do something to resolve the situation,” he said.

A spokesman for council, Ed DeLong confirmed BP would no longer be providing fuel services at the airport.

“We are currently in negotiations with other fuel suppliers and anticipate there will be a resolution to the situation.

“I am confident there will not be a situation where fuel is unavailable at the airport,” he said.