Aircraft Continuous Descent Trial

Airservices Australia will run a Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) trial for northern and south-eastern arrivals into Melbourne Airport.

About the trial

Landing procedures traditionally involve aircraft descending in successive steps from cruising altitudes to the runway. In a Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) approach the aircraft flies from cruise altitude all the way down to the runway in one smooth and uninterrupted descent. CDO provides airlines a predictable idle descent, saving fuel, reducing carbon emissions and potentially decreasing descent noise.

As part of the trial into Melbourne Airport, we are creating additional waypoints for pre-determined arrival flight paths that aircraft can be directed to when there is a time delay required to safely manage air traffic into the airport. This will enable any delay to be absorbed at a higher altitude and before commencing a smooth descent.

For further information, see our fact sheet here.

The CDO trial will only affect a small proportion of fights into Melbourne, and we expect a large majority of current aircraft operations to remain unchanged.

To provide feedback during the trial, please use the Survey tool at the bottom of this page.

For questions relating to specific aircraft operations or to make a complaint, please contact our Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS).

Airservices Australia will run a Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) trial for northern and south-eastern arrivals into Melbourne Airport.

About the trial

Landing procedures traditionally involve aircraft descending in successive steps from cruising altitudes to the runway. In a Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) approach the aircraft flies from cruise altitude all the way down to the runway in one smooth and uninterrupted descent. CDO provides airlines a predictable idle descent, saving fuel, reducing carbon emissions and potentially decreasing descent noise.

As part of the trial into Melbourne Airport, we are creating additional waypoints for pre-determined arrival flight paths that aircraft can be directed to when there is a time delay required to safely manage air traffic into the airport. This will enable any delay to be absorbed at a higher altitude and before commencing a smooth descent.

For further information, see our fact sheet here.

The CDO trial will only affect a small proportion of fights into Melbourne, and we expect a large majority of current aircraft operations to remain unchanged.

To provide feedback during the trial, please use the Survey tool at the bottom of this page.

For questions relating to specific aircraft operations or to make a complaint, please contact our Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS).

  • Trial update and close of community engagement

    We have completed further assessment of the Continuous Descent Operations trial into Melbourne Airport. We have identified to this point that it provides a benefit to the sequencing of aircraft arriving into Melbourne Airport, particularly during busier traffic periods. We have also found that due to the higher altitudes at which the continuous descent of aircraft occurs in this current trial, it does not provide any noticeable change in noise levels experienced by communities.

    Over the course of the trial we have not received any feedback from community members and no complaints have been recorded by our Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS). As a result, community engagement on this trial will close on 26 November 2024.

    Community members can continue to as questions or raise concerns about aircraft operations through the NCIS:

    www.airservicesaustralia.com/community/environment/aircraft-noise/about-making-a-complaint

    The trial will continue to operate while additional feedback is gathered from airlines.

  • Update on the Continuous Descent Operations trial

    The Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) trial has been running from 21 March 2024 and has been extended to gather additional information and industry feedback. We welcome feedback from the community via the Survey tab. Your feedback is valuable and will be used to inform the assessment of trial outcomes including next steps.

  • Trial period

    The Continuous Descent Operations trial into Melbourne Airport initially proposed to operate from late 2023 until April 2024, will now be conducted from 21 March 2024 until 1 July 2024. The trial was postponed due to competing priorities and time constraints relating to publishing of waypoint changes.

    When the trial ends, it will be assessed along with feedback from community and industry to determine if it should be retained as a permanent operation. Subject to the assessment, we may also explore further CDO trials on other flight routes at major airports around the country.

    To provide feedback during the trial, please use the 'Provide feedback' tool above or click on the 'Survey' button to take a quick survey.

  • Trial start date

    The Continuous Descent Trial into Melbourne Airport has been postponed to April 2024. We will publish any further updates on this page as the project progresses.

Page last updated: 13 Nov 2024, 01:35 PM