Ballina Airport - Introduction of controlled airspace

Statement of Need

Airspace around the Ballina Byron Gateway Airport will be managed by air traffic controllers from November 2025 to safely accommodate the continued growth of air traffic in the region.

The decision to enhance air traffic services at Ballina Airport resulted from the 2022 Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) Airspace Review of Ballina, which included extensive feedback from industry. Currently uncontrolled airspace where pilots self-separate, the change to controlled airspace follows a direction from CASA for Airservices Australia to establish controlled airspace from 2025.

This initiative is in line with Airservices’ airspace modernisation program, which is enhancing the safety and efficiency of Australia’s airspace at major regional airports and improving accessibility to these locations for the aviation industry.

The new air traffic services will result in changes to both airspace and flight paths, and subsequently what the community may notice from the ground. Airservices will engage with community and industry stakeholders on the proposed flight path design options. CASA is leading industry engagement on the airspace change process and further information can be found via CASA’s consultation hub.

We’ve produced a video for you explaining the changes.

Statement of Need

Airspace around the Ballina Byron Gateway Airport will be managed by air traffic controllers from November 2025 to safely accommodate the continued growth of air traffic in the region.

The decision to enhance air traffic services at Ballina Airport resulted from the 2022 Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) Airspace Review of Ballina, which included extensive feedback from industry. Currently uncontrolled airspace where pilots self-separate, the change to controlled airspace follows a direction from CASA for Airservices Australia to establish controlled airspace from 2025.

This initiative is in line with Airservices’ airspace modernisation program, which is enhancing the safety and efficiency of Australia’s airspace at major regional airports and improving accessibility to these locations for the aviation industry.

The new air traffic services will result in changes to both airspace and flight paths, and subsequently what the community may notice from the ground. Airservices will engage with community and industry stakeholders on the proposed flight path design options. CASA is leading industry engagement on the airspace change process and further information can be found via CASA’s consultation hub.

We’ve produced a video for you explaining the changes.

  • Community engagement sessions released

    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:

    Date
    		 Time Venue
    		 Address
    Monday 5 August 2024 4pm-7pm Ballina Surf Club (Gawandii Room)
    		 65 Lighthouse Parade, Ballina
    Tuesday 6 August 2024 4pm-7pm
    		 Lennox Head Community Hall
    		 7 Daybreak Way, Lennox Head
    Wednesday 7 August 2024 4pm-7pm
    		 Woodburn Memorial Hall 127 River Street, Woodburn
    Thursday 8 August 2024 4pm-7pm
    		 Goonellabah Community Centre
    		 27 Oliver Avenue, Goonellabah
    Friday 9 August 2024 1pm-4pm Alstonville Anglicans Parish Ministry Centre Hall
    		 6-8 The Avenue, Alstonville
    Saturday 10 August 2024 9am-12pm Coraki Youth Hall
    		 77 Bridge Street, Coraki


    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).

  • Preliminary flight path design

    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.

  • Commencement of engagement

    We are pleased to announce that community engagement to support Ballina Airport’s move to controlled airspace has commenced.

    In keeping with Airservices’ Community Engagement Standard we are providing the Initial Community Engagement Plan for a four-week community review and feedback period. We are particularly interested to receive feedback on the engagement methods we are proposing, including the proposed channels we will use to generate awareness of this change and the methods to enable discussion and feedback from the community.

    Please provide your feedback by 2 July 2024 using the ‘Feedback/ Ask a Question’ tab on the right. Following initial feedback, the Community Engagement Plan (CEP) will be refined and we will release the preliminary flight path design and commence community engagement sessions as outlined in the CEP.

Page last updated: 10 Jul 2025, 07:37 AM