The Australian Aviation Associations Forum (TAAAF) has terminated the membership of AOPA Australia after the pilots' association failed to respond to questions about the Australian General Aviation Alliance (AGAA).
After AGAA was formed in February, TAAAF wrote to AOPA president Marc de Stoop asking for clarification about the aims of the alliance, but received no reply.
According to Chairman Greg Russell, the lack of reply left TAAAF with no alternative but to terminate AOPA's membership.
"Members were concerned about the public rationale for establishing the alliance," he told Australian Flying. "We asked for clarification, but there was no formal communication from them, so the membership felt they had to be removed."
AGAA also includes the Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Business Association (AMROBA) and the Sport Aircraft Association of Australia (SAAA). AMROBA informed TAAAF of their decision to leave, and the SAAA was never a member organisation of TAAAF.
According to AOPA CEO Ben Morgan, the TAAAF letter sent to Marc de Stoop arrived when the president was overseas and the deadline in the letter didn't give AOPA time to reply. Morgan told Australian Flying that AOPA had not intended to resign from TAAAF.
"It's incredibly disappointing, but amplifies the reasons why some organisations have walked away [from TAAAF]," he said.
"There is a real question of whether or not TAAAF is an effective vehicle. It's a body that's trying to be everything to everybody and advocacy on important reforms is getting lost."
AGAA is believed to be lobbying other associations to join the new alliance.