Gladstone Airport - New arrival flight path

Statement of Need

In recognition of the impact of commercial aviation activities on global climate change, Qantas has released the ‘Qantas Group Climate Action Plan’. The action plan was released in March 2022 and is a commitment by the Qantas group to Net Zero emissions by 2050. A key enabler for this milestone is to increase efficiency and reduce track miles across the Qantas network. This will flow on to a reduction in fuel burn and emissions to contribute to the net zero by 2050 target.

It is globally recognised that for every kilogram of fuel saved results in approximately 3kg of CO2 that is not released into the atmosphere. Shortening flight paths can reduce emissions, save costs, time, and help guide a path to a more sustainable aviation sector.

GE Aerospace, in partnership with Qantas, will be introducing a new Required Navigation Performance – Authorisation Required (RNP-AR) approach to Runway 10 at Gladstone Airport. A feature of this type of approach is the ability to fly a curved path and this allows a significant reduction in track miles when the weather is poor.

Currently:

• When the wind is from the southeast and the weather is poor, aircraft must fly up to 15nm away from the aerodrome to the north in order to execute an approach to land.
• When the wind is from the southeast and the weather is good, aircraft are able to execute a much shorter visual circuit to land.

The new approach procedure is closely aligned to the current path flown when the wind is from the southeast and weather is good. This will allow aircraft to benefit from reduced track miles when the weather is poor.