Brisbane departure flight paths

Aviation is critical to the broader economy and effectively links our people with each other and the rest of the world. Brisbane Airport is a vital part of the national transport system, however, managing the impacts of aircraft noise remains a key challenge for an industry that is experiencing high levels of growth.

In December 2014 Airservices changed two departure flight paths from Brisbane in order to increase airport runway capacity and potentially assist airlines to improve their on-time performance.

One of the flight path changes was entirely over Moreton Bay.

The other change moved up to six flights a day from a flight path over south-eastern suburbs onto a long-established flight path to the north of the airport as shown in the map below. This allows greater use of Runway 14 (the shorter, cross runway).

These changes also provided a range of safety improvements in the way aircraft are managed at Brisbane, reducing workload and complexity within air traffic control and better aligning management of the airspace over Brisbane with world’s best practice.

The changes did not expose any new areas to aircraft noise.

When in use, the north-easterly flight path can be used by up to 45 aircraft a day and an additional six aircraft are not expected to be noticeable.

Likewise, six fewer aircraft a day may not be noticeable by residents in areas underneath the south-eastern departure flight path.

These changes also increase the capacity of Runway 14 for arriving flights, which is expected to provide noise respite in the evening for some residents on the northern side of the airport.

A review of the change was undertaken and a report is available. These changes were considered necessary by air traffic control to manage the increasing number of flights to and from Brisbane Airport safely and more efficiently. Industry supported these changes and the environmental assessments indicated the impact on the community would be negligible.

Since implementation there have been no ongoing complaint issues or negative feedback specifically associated with these changes. Airservices considers this proposal has been successfully implemented.

Due to the greater distance that will be flown by some aircraft as a result of these changes, additional aircraft emissions are estimated to be 1400 tonnes a year.

Related information:

• Brisbane departures flight path fact sheet