A Taree resident believes it is time to lengthen the Taree Airport runway so it can be used by larger aircraft during an emergency such as the bushfire situation to the north of Taree and south to Darawank and Minimbah.
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Firefighting aircraft are flying to Coffs Harbour to resupply with retardant because the Taree runway is too short for jets to land.
Taree resident, David Freeman believes this is "a huge gap in our disaster management exercise."
"If we are to continue utilising these aircraft then we need to better resource them and their crew," he said.
"Exactly the same will happen when we have a flood, a cyclone, tornado or any other disaster anywhere between Newcastle to Coffs Harbour to Tamworth to Lord Howe Island."
While MidCoast Council owns and operates Taree Airport, the length of the runway and the operation of flights is regulated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
The jets being used by the Rural Fire Service also cannot use the airstrips at Port Macquarie and Kempsey.
Mr Freeman believes Taree is perfectly situated to have the runway upgraded to service a gap in the Mid North Coast.
Taree Airport is being used by fire fighting helicopters and smaller aircraft.
A large container - which resembles a water tank - at the Lansdowne Road airstrip, contains water and fire retardant being used to fight local bushfires.
The RFS's new 737 Large Air Tanker (LAT), a firebombing aircraft, has been assisting with fire control on the Mid North Coast.
The new addition to the NSW RFS aerial firefighting fleet, the Richmond RAAF based Marie Bashir, can operate from some regional airports, such as Coffs Harbour, Newcastle and Tamworth.
The RFS says it can reach all parts of NSW within an hour.
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The 737 and its two lead planes support RFS crews on the ground by providing "fast, flexible and effective firefighting options", the RFS says.
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