FAQs

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), in conjunction with Airservices Australia, is proposing to reclassify a portion of airspace southeast of Bankstown Airport to uncontrolled airspace up to 1500 feet (457.2 metres). The proposed changes will introduce a VFR corridor to the south-east of Bankstown Airport. This means VFR aircraft in addition to being able to use the existing north and west routes, will also be able to travel to the east or south through dedicated VFR airspace without requiring clearance from Sydney ATC, provided they stay under 1500 feet (457.2 metres). This new corridor will be able to be used in addition to the existing north and west routes.

The proposal is intended to enhance safety, reduce congestion, and provide more equitable access to airspace for aircraft operating to and from Bankstown Airport.

Currently, this portion of airspace is controlled airspace, and VFR aircraft must obtain clearance from Sydney Air Traffic Control (Sydney ATC) to use it. By reclassifying this portion of airspace, VFR aircraft will be able to use the southeast VFR corridor to travel in a south or east without requiring clearance from Sydney ATC, provided they stay under 1500 feet.

CASA has been monitoring the airspace and engaging with airspace users. This has allowed CASA to identify some potential improvements to airspace and route design to accommodate the ongoing growth in traffic and congestion to the north and west of Bankstown Airport. Currently, VFR aircraft operating to and from Bankstown Airport use either the north or the west VFR routes, even if the aircraft’s flight route is to the east or south. As a result, there is congestion northwest of Bankstown Airport.

CASA is now working with Airservices on proposed changes to address some of the existing limitations on how airspace south and southeast of the airport can be used.

Visual flight rules (VFR) is a method of flying commonly used by helicopters and light aircraft where the pilot uses visual reference to the ground or water to navigate their flight.

Suburbs under and around the proposed southeast VFR corridor may notice increases to VFR aircraft activity, especially suburbs that are closest or are directly under, the proposed inbound and outbound routes. This includes Hammondville, Engadine, Voyager Point, Pleasure Point, Barden Ridge, Moorebank, Menai, Woronora, Woronora Heights, Revesby, Revesby Heights, Illawong, Bangor, Alfords Point, Padstow Heights, and Sutherland. For more information, including the ability to search for a specific address in relation to the proposed changes, please use the interactive map function on the project webpage.

As VFR aircraft can navigate as they please once they exit the corridor (provided they stay out of restricted airspace), suburbs located on coast or inland may also notice changes to VFR activity in their area due to the location of the proposed southeast VFR corridor. The area of Helensburgh and surrounds may notice an increase of VFR activity as aircraft using the new corridor may fly above that area.

Use of the southeast VFR corridor will generally be limited to aircraft flying under VFR and only during daytime hours, due to the 1500 feet altitude limit.

Currently, the proposed southeast VFR corridor area experiences approximately 281 departure and arrival flights to/from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (KSA) each day, as well as occasional VFR flights. There were 34 VFR flights within the proposed southeast VFR corridor area during the month of January 2024.

According to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIA), the expected number of overflights would be approximately 63 flights on an average day (approximately 44 inbound and 19 outbound) and 104 flights on a busy day (approximately 71 inbound and 32 outbound), once the proposed changes are implemented.

However, as most VFR aircraft would not be able to operate in the southeast VFR corridor at night due to increased minimum safety height requirements around Bankstown Airport at night-time, the majority of these flights would occur during the day. More information about expected flight numbers and common aircraft types can be found in the EIA.

Due to the minimum safe height requirements around Bankstown Airport at night-time, VFR aircraft will only be able to use the reclassified portion of airspace during daylight hours. To fly safely in the area at night-time, VFR aircraft will need to operate at an altitude above 1500 feet, which would trigger clearance requirements from Sydney ATC.

However, some emergency service VFR aircraft do have specialised night equipment that would allow them to safely fly at 1500 feet or below at night-time.

Currently, KSA departures overfly the proposed change area at an altitude of approximately 5000 feet, generating at-ground noise levels between 54 and 64 decibels. KSA arrivals also overfly the change area, but at an altitude of above 6000 feet, generating at-ground noise levels of less than 60 decibels. Should the proposed changes be implemented, VFR aircraft using the southeast VFR corridor are expected to generate an average at-ground noise level of approximately 57 decibels and peaking at approximately 61 decibels. This estimation is based on the most common fixed-wing aircraft operating to and from Bankstown Airport flying at an altitude between 1300 feet and 1500 feet.

Therefore, it is forecast that noise generated by VFR aircraft using the corridor, will be similar to noise levels currently generated by KSA overflights in the same area. More information about noise and common aircraft types can be found in the EIA.

The location of the corridor is constrained by controlled airspace to the east for Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (KSA) and military restricted airspace to the west.

In restricted airspace, aircraft movements are only permitted for aircraft with certain specified permissions. Examples of restricted airspace include military installations (Holsworthy Army Barracks) and Nuclear Power Plants (Lucas Heights). Restricted airspace may also be imposed by police for safety or security reasons near bushfires or major crime scenes. CASA’s Office of Airspace Regulation is responsible for restricted airspace classification.

The corridor’s height is constrained by KSA overflight. Due to the proximity of the corridor to arrival and departure flights from KSA, increasing the height of the corridor would not be permitted, due to International Design Standards for aircraft operation and separation.

Inbound and outbound routes will be established within the corridor to safety separate aircraft. The distance between these routes needs to provide adequate separation between aircraft travelling in both directions. 

While airspace in this part of Sydney is heavily constrained, there are opportunities for community feedback to be considered as we progress the design through to its next stage. We are particularly interested in any community concerns or areas of interest in relation to the operation of the new VFR corridor

If the proposed changes are implemented, residents under the change area and surrounds should expect to notice an increase in VFR aircraft in the airspace.

According to the EIA, although the noise generated by these VFR aircraft will likely be similar to the level of noise generated by current departures from KSA over the same area, the frequency of these noise events will likely increase. However, these changes would only be applicable during daylight hours, with likely no change to current operations at night-time (refer to question 4).

Community engagement is being completed as per Airservices’ Community Engagement Standard.  Currently, we are consulting with the community on the proposed airspace design.

Step One engagement was completed in June and July 2024 and involved seeking community and community representative feedback on Airservices initial draft Community Engagement Plan. Using this feedback, we were able to make changes to, and improve our engagement approach for the project.

More information about the Community Engagement Standard can be found here.

Step Two engagement will conclude on 22 October 2024. Following this, we will take the feedback received into consideration for the final design and update the project materials to reflect the final design. As part of step three community engagement, consultation will be undertaken on the proposed final design.

CASA is concurrently conducting consultation with the aviation industry via their consultation hub at consultation.casa.gov.au. They are seeking feedback to understand the aviation industry’s issues, observations or positions regarding the safe accommodation of air traffic in the region, proposed introduction of the VFR lanes and proposed airspace design and procedures. Feedback received by industry will also be considered for the final design. CASA will provide an update through their consultation hub on any intended changes and next steps for industry.

Following step three engagement, feedback received during that step will be considered and summarised in a Community Engagement Report, which will be published in 2025.

CASA is responsible for assessing the proposed changes through the Airspace Change Proposal (ACP) process. Community, industry and other feedback collected during this consultation will be taken into consideration as part of the assessment process. The proposal and feedback received will be formally considered under the Airspace Act 2007 and a decision will be made on whether to proceed with the proposed VFR corridor or what changes may need to be made

To stay updated on the project, please subscribe to our mailing list by providing your email in the “stay informed” box on the project webpage.

You can contact Airservices community engagement team or provide your feedback using the project webpage, or via email or post:

• communityengagement@airservicesaustralia.com 
• Bankstown VFR Corridor, PO Box 211, MASCOT NSW 1460