Ballina Airport - Introduction of controlled airspace

The feedback period on the preferred flight path design is now closed. We would like to thank all community members who engaged with us. After an assessment period in the new year, we will share the final design and information on how community and industry feedback have influenced this.

We are pleased to advise that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which we referred to the Minister for Environment for advice in accordance with Sections 28 and 160 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act), has been reviewed and we are advised the no advice is necessary. This means we are able to continue on our engagement with the community on this proposed change based on the findings of the EIA which you can read here.

A reminder engagement is open on the preferred flight path design till 22 December 2024. Please register for one of our community engagement sessions or submit your feedback on the flight paths using the tabs above.

We are pleased to share the preferred flight path design to support Ballina Byron Gateway Airport moving to controlled airspace in 2025. These are now open for community review and feedback. You can review the design here. You can also use our zoomable map tool in the tab above to search your address or view a location in relation to the flight paths. You can also view an assessment of noise levels, frequency of use and aircraft altitude information here.

These flight paths have been refined following community and industry feedback received during engagement on the preliminary flight path design from July to September 2024. We have published a feedback summary and assessment document summarising the feedback received and our responses.

For a more detailed assessment of the proposed changes, you can view the Environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The EIA explains existing airport operations and assesses the impact of the proposed flight path and airspace changes as a whole against a range of environmental factors, including noise, emissions and biodiversity. The EIA identified the need to refer the change for advice from the Commonwealth Minister of Environment (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water) in accordance with Sections 28 and 160 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act). This has been actioned.

Please note, the information provided on forecast aircraft movement numbers during preliminary design engagement included circuit training arrival and departure operations and other general aviation movements. During the more detailed review of the Preferred Design, these movements have been excluded as they will not fly on the proposed new flight paths (other than initial departure and final arrival segments). Thus, the number of movements forecast for each flight path will generally be lower than previously communicated.

You can submit your feedback on the preferred flight path design via our Submit Feedback page. You can provide feedback on as many of the flight paths as you wish.

Feedback on the preferred flight path design closes on Sunday 22 December 2024. Feedback will be considered in determining the final flight paths for implementation next year.

A reminder that registrations for our community engagement sessions (19 to 28 November) are open. We look forward to seeing you at a session and to receiving your feedback.

We are pleased to announce details of our upcoming in-person community drop-in sessions and online webinars to discuss the preferred flight path design. For the drop-in sessions, come by anytime within the times listed to view flight path information and speak to Airservices staff.

The webinars will include an Airservices presentation and a Question & Answer session at the end.

Register to attend any of the sessions here. In response to community feedback received in the previous round of engagement, we have simplified our registration process and you will not need to create an account to register.

Flight path design information and the environmental impact assessment will be available on this page next week. To receive email alerts of the release of new information, please subscribe using the Stay Informed tool on the top right of this page (if you are on a mobile device you will need to scroll down to the bottom of the page).

Some community members may have received a letterbox flyer on the next phase of our engagement (the preferred flight path design).

This information was planned for release next week, but unfortunately Australia Post have delivered it to some areas a week early.

Please check back on this site next week or you can register to receive updates to be alerted when further information is available. Register at the 'Stay Informed' section at the top right of this page (or scroll down to see this if using a mobile device).

We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and look forward to engaging with you soon.

Thank you to all community members who have engaged with us and provided feedback on the preliminary flight paths. The flight paths are now being refined and an environmental assessment completed for the updated (preferred) design.

We currently plan to commence community engagement on the preferred design in November 2024. We will release details of engagement sessions two weeks ahead of these sessions commencing.

A summary of feedback received during preliminary design engagement will also be published, including our response to community and other stakeholder feedback and how this has been considered in developing the preferred design.

To stay informed and receive information on community information sessions, please subscribe to e-mail updates at the 'Stay Informed' section at the top right of this page (you will need to scroll down to see this if using a mobile device).

As a result of community feedback, we have created a zoomable version of the flight path comparison map in Page 11 of our New Flight Paths factsheet. This map shows the nine proposed flight paths overlaid with actual arrival and departure tracks flown in October to December 2023 for comparison. This map is available under the Zoomable Maps tab.

A reminder that feedback on the preliminary flight path design is open until Sunday 8 September 2024. Please use the Submit Feedback button to let us know if you support or do not support the proposed flight paths.

We are pleased to share the preliminary flight path design for the proposed changes to support Ballina Byron Gateway Airport moving to controlled airspace operation in 2025. These are now open for community review and feedback. You can read about the proposed changes in the following documents:

• Project overview
• New flight paths

You can also use our zoomable map tool using the tabs above to search your address or view a location in relation to the proposed new flight paths.

Please submit your feedback on the flight paths on our feedback page. You can provide feedback on as many of the proposed new flight paths as you wish.

We have also published our Options Development Methodology and Assessment Criteria that explains the factors considered in developing the proposed flight paths and the criteria we will use to assess them.

Additionally, we have updated the Initial Community Engagement Plan (CEP) published in June to incorporate feedback received, adding more engagement channels and outlining pre-implementation communications in 2025. The Final CEP outlines our proposed engagement through to implementation of the proposed changes.

Feedback on the preliminary flight path design closes on Sunday 8 September 2024.

A reminder that registrations for our community engagement sessions (5 to 15 August 2024) are open. We look forward to seeing you at a session and to receiving your feedback.

We are pleased to provide the dates, times and locations of our preliminary flight path design community engagement sessions. We will be hosting six community drop-in sessions at the following locations:

Come by anytime within the 3 hour time period to view preliminary design information and speak to Airservices staff. If you are not able to attend an in-person session, we will be hosting an online session on Thursday 15 August 2024, from 7pm-8.30pm (a meeting link will be sent to all registrants). Register to attend any of the sessions here.

Flight path design information will be available on this page early next week. To stay updated and receive alerts of the release of new information, please subscribe using the Stay Informed tool on the top right of this page (if you are viewing on a mobile device you may need to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Subscribe button).

We will commence community engagement on the preliminary flight path design for Ballina Airport the week commencing 22 July 2024. We will release details of engagement sessions where you can meet with Airservices representatives two weeks ahead of these sessions commencing. To stay informed and receive information on community information sessions, please subscribe to e-mail updates at the top right of this page.

A reminder that feedback on our Initial Community Engagement Plan is requested by 2 July 2024. We thank everyone who has provided feedback date and we will provide an update on any changes made to our plan following review of all feedback.