Brisbane Airport Flight Path Changes Post Implementation Review

This project is closed.

• Brisbane Airport Operations Update

  UPDATE 12:06 PM AEST: The technical systems issue in the Brisbane tower has been resolved. Standard operations have now resumed, noting the ongoing variable weather conditions in Brisbane may still affect some aircraft movements from time to time.

  
  

  UPDATE 09:31 AM AEST: Due to a technical systems issue in the Brisbane tower, we have had to adjust the way we are operating flights into and out of the airport. Some communities may notice different operations to what would normally be expected. This is a temporary situation that is required to ensure arriving and departing aircraft are safely managed while we seek to restore full operation of our system. We will provide updates on this page as we resolve the issue.

• Brisbane Operations Update

  Due to the current significant weather conditions across Brisbane and the South East, some communities may be experiencing aircraft movements or operations different to what they would normally experience.

  
  

  During storm activity, aircraft often need to manoeuvre around this bad weather, creating aircraft overflight in locations that may not normally experience this.

  
  

  The Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach, which is runway aligned and commences approximately 26 kilometres from the airport, is used to safely guide aircraft to the runway during poor visibility. The other approaches closer to the airport will generally not be used during this sort of weather as they require more stable conditions, and modes that keep all traffic over the bay are often not available.

  
  

  As soon as the weather allows, we will return to normal operations.

• 7-knot Tailwind Safety Case Submitted

  We are pleased to advise that Airservices and Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) have submitted a safety case and supporting material to request an increase in the tailwind limit for Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) at Brisbane Airport, from 5-knots to 7-knots.

  If approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the overall volume of time that arrivals and departures will be able to operate simultaneously over the bay will be increased.

  This is one of a number of important initiatives currently being pursued to minimise aircraft noise in communities under Brisbane Airport flight paths.

• 7-knot Tailwind Safety Case Update

  Airservices and Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) have been working jointly to develop a safety case and supporting material that justifies increasing the tailwind limit for Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) from 5-knots to 7-knots.

  If approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the overall volume of time when the wind conditions permit arrivals and departures to operate simultaneously over the bay will be increased.

  Airservices previously uploaded a document on our industry Engage portal intended for airline stakeholders as part of engagement seeking their support for the 7-knot submission, which if approved would lead to increased over the bay operations and noise respite for communities.

  This important work is continuing and a safety case will be submitted to CASA by the end of April 2022. It is one of a number of important initiatives that will contribute to achieving an overall net benefit relating to aircraft noise at Brisbane Airport.

• Noise Improvement Trials Update

  The trials to extend SODPROPs hours of operation and restrict intersection departures from the new parallel runway commenced on 24 February 2022 and are continuing to be implemented. We look forward to sharing the outcomes of the first three months of these trials in June 2022.

  We also undertook to complete a detailed review of current Standard Instrument Departure (SID) operations by 31 March 2022, to support the introduction of a Noise Abatement Procedure (NAP) requiring jet aircraft to remain on the SID path until they reach 10,000-12,000 feet. This review has been completed and safety work is now progressing. We are also completing noise modelling on the current SID operations and the proposed NAP operations to determine if engagement with communities located under the SIDs might be required. We will provide a further update following completion of this work.

  Provide your feedback

  We have requested community feedback on the trials, particularly any difference in noise or operations experienced. Please use our online form at any time over the 12-month trial period to provide your input.

  If you have specific questions or complaints about aircraft operations, please contact our Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS).

• PIR Progress Update - Trax International Interim Report

  We are pleased to inform you that the Trax International (Trax) ‘Brisbane New Parallel Runway Flight Paths Post Implementation Review Independent Assurance Interim Report’ is now available via the Airservices website.

  Trax was appointed by Airservices Chief Executive Officer, Jason Harfield, to independently review and make improvement recommendations across all aspects of the Brisbane Post Implementation Review (PIR), with a particular focus on opportunities to limit and, where possible, reduce the impacts of aircraft noise.

  The Interim Report is the first phase of the Trax review, identifying a range of potential short, medium, and long-term improvement opportunities.

  Airservices has prepared an Implementation Approach to consider the improvement opportunities identified in the Trax Interim Report, including opportunities that can be readily progressed and others that will require more detailed analysis and consultation with stakeholders, including policy and regulatory agencies, industry, and the community.

  Trax is expected to publish their Final Report in June 2022. Airservices has invited Trax to present the findings of their Final Report and discuss potential improvement opportunities at community workshops due to be held mid this year.

• Brisbane runway closures for maintenance works

  Brisbane Airport Corporation will be performing regular runway heavy maintenance works on both runways on 25 March from 7am to 4pm, and 26 and 27 March 2022 from 6am to 6pm. These essential maintenance works are carried out twice every year to ensure the runways remain safe and operational.

  The works will be undertaken on one runway at a time, leaving the other available for ongoing aircraft use. Community members may notice a temporary change to aircraft operations as all arrivals and departures will be conducted using a single runway.

  Temporary impact on noise improvement trials

  Due to runway availability, Airservices will be temporarily unable to run the trial to extend Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPs) hours to 8am on Saturday, 26^th March and Sunday, 27^th March, as this requires the use of both runways.

  During the works, SODPROPs will remain the preferred operating mode from 10pm to 6am. Please note SODPROPS can only be used when weather and traffic conditions allow. Information on SODPROPS is available in the Runway Operations Fact Sheet.

  The trial to restrict intersection departures on the New Parallel Runway will not be affected by these works.

  Similar works are scheduled for 28-30^th October 2022, and more information will be provided closer to the time.

  If you have specific questions or complaints about aircraft operations, please contact our Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS).

  
  

• Noise Improvement Trials

  Noise Improvement trials

  As part of our commitment to explore all opportunities to minimise noise impacts in Brisbane, Airservices is pleased to advise that the following Noise Improvement Trials have commenced

  • Extension of SODPROPS hours
  • Restrictions on intersection departures from the New Parallel Runway
  • QLink Q400 RNP-AR noise improvement trial

  Both trials commenced on 24 February and will run for 12 months. Quarterly reviews will be conducted and findings published on this site.

  The review reports will be published on this site.

  Provide your feedback

  We welcome community input on the trials. To provide feedback, please use our online form at any time during the 12-month trials.

  We will consider this feedback as part of the quarterly reviews. We are particularly interested in any change to aircraft noise or operations that you notice during these trials.

  If you have specific questions or complaints about aircraft operations, please contact our Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS).

  
  

• PIR progress update

  PIR Update

  We are pleased to provide a progress update on the Brisbane Airport Flight Path Changes Post Implementation Review (PIR), including the appointment of an independent global air traffic management advisor, Trax International, our response to the Brisbane Airport PIR Advisory Forum’s first Quarterly Progress Report and upcoming PIR activity.

  Trax International UK

  Trax International (Trax), a United Kingdom based firm, was appointed on 17 December 2021 to independently review and make improvement recommendations across all aspects of the flightpath design, airspace operation and conduct of the Airservices Post Implementation Review of Brisbane airspace. Trax International brings significant experience working on similar airspace, flightpath and airport changes overseas, including in the United Kingdom at both Gatwick and Heathrow airports.

  The Trax team includes experts with backgrounds in air traffic operations, flightpath design and community engagement.

  Trax have commenced their review and are currently gathering information about the operations and the use of the airspace to inform their recommendations on potential improvement opportunities and their reports will be publicly available.

  BAPAF Report

  We welcome BAPAF’s first Quarterly Report and have agreed to progress with a number of short-term opportunities to improve noise outcomes for the community.

  Short-term Noise Improvements

  We are currently progressing as a priority the following noise improvement opportunities identified in the BAPAF Quarterly Report.

  Twelve month trial to extend simultaneous opposite direction parallel runway operations (SODPROPS)

  This trial will commence on 24 February 2022. Once the trial is in operation we will complete further modelling of traffic levels and weather data to determine if opportunities to extend SODPROPS operations to other times of the day are also possible.

  Twelve month trial of full-length runway departures

  A12-month trial of full length runway departures from the new runway will commence from 24 February 2022. Noise monitors located at the runway end, Hamilton, Bulimba and New Farm will be used to review noise outcomes. In addition to data gathered from noise monitors, we value community input during these trials, and will request community feedback. A request for feedback will be shared via the Airservices Engage website once the trials have commenced. We will review and report on the trial on a quarterly basis.

  Introducing a Noise Abatement Procedure requiring jet aircraft to remain on the Standard Instrument Departure path until they reach 10-12,000 feet

  We are completing a detailed review of current Standard Instrument Departure (SID) operations and noise modelling to determine if this Noise Abatement Procedure (NAP) will result in increased aircraft operations over any community, thus potentially requiring direct engagement with those impacted prior to implementation of the NAP. We expect to implement the NAP by the end of March 2022.

  We are also continuing to progress with the safety case to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for an increased tailwind limit to support more over the bay operations. The safety case is planned to be submitted by the end of March 2022.

  PIR Activity

  The community workshops planned for February and March 2022 have been rescheduled to occur in May and June 2022. This is for three key reasons:

  1. Due to the co-design intent of the workshops, we believe these workshops need to be held face to face, with as many people as possible able to attend to get the best possible outcome. We also want to ensure these workshops are safe and that the current uncertainty created in Brisbane by the COVID-19 Omicron variant does not prevent people from attending.
  2. BAPAF has asked Airservices to prioritise our efforts over the immediate term in implementing the agreed near-term noise improvement opportunities. We plan to engage with the community on these opportunities as they are progressed.
  3. Since developing the original engagement schedule, we have appointed Trax International to complete an independent review of the flightpaths, our operations and the PIR. We received community feedback during the PIR Terms of Reference engagement that the preference was to present the community with improvement options for discussion, including opportunities from an independent expert with flight path design expertise which was not Airservices or the community. The work Trax is undertaking will provide this input and so we are allowing time for their review to be completed so the recommendations on potential improvements to flightpaths or operations can be shared with the community at the workshops. This will provide an informed starting point for discussions around potential longer-term improvements. We have also asked Trax to attend these sessions to further support the community and PIR outcomes.

  In December 2021, we shared the results of the comparison between 2007 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), 2018 Airservices environmental assessment and actual noise levels recorded through noise monitoring. We are completing a similar comparison of actual operations since runway opening and will share this information in coming weeks.

  We will seek feedback at the time of sharing this information, to determine if community members would like the opportunity to discuss the outcomes of this comparison via an online forum.

  
  

• End of year PIR update: final Terms of Reference, Fact Sheets and Noise Monitoring

  Final Terms of Reference

  Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the draft Terms of Reference. A copy of the final Terms of Reference, a copy with marked-up changes and a review of community feedback document is now available.

  UPDATE: Please note that there was an error when uploading the version of the draft ToR with marked up changes. This has now been rectified and the draft with changes in mark-up has now been uploaded at the same link. Thank you.

  Fact Sheets

  We have produced a number of factsheets to provide the community with information on key topics of interest raised during our PIR community information sessions in October 2021.

  • Aviation Roles and Responsibilities
  • Aviation Documentation
  • Brisbane Runway Operations
  • Brisbane Airspace Operations
  • Noise Abatement Procedures
  • Brisbane Airport Aircraft Noise Complaints
  • Aircraft Noise Modelling and Monitoring
  • Summary of Noise Modelling vs Actuals

  
  

  Additional factsheets will be provided during the PIR in response to community interest in particular topics.

  Temporary noise monitors

  Airservices is pleased to advise that, as part of the PIR process, a temporary noise monitor has been deployed in Samford and will remain in place for approximately 3 months after which it will be moved to other locations to gather data as required. Please visit the Brisbane WebTrak page for information.

  In response to community interest, Brisbane Airport Corporation has also deployed a temporary noise monitor to provide information on noise in locations of community interest. The monitor was first placed in Balmoral and has since been moved to Brookfield. This monitor is also available on WebTrak and data collected will be made available to Airservices to support the PIR

  Noise monitor location review

  As part of the PIR Airservices has committed to reviewing our current noise monitor terminal placement. This review will commence in early 2022 and further information will be provided on this page.