Outcome of the Noise Abatement Procedure Trial Assessment

Assessment of the proposed Noise Abatement Procedure (NAP) trial has now been completed and the decision has been made not to proceed with the trial.

Feedback from the community was almost evenly divided between those who supported a trial and those who did not. To further assess the merit of the trial, we undertook a detailed assessment of each option using our Flight Path Design Principles, which having first given regard to safety, require a careful balance of operational efficiency, protecting the environment and minimising the effects of aviation noise on the community.

The outcome of this assessment concluded that implementation of the NAP trial rated slightly higher than to not proceed with the trial. Given diverting all air traffic during the NAP period to the longer approach would result in a considerable amount of additional CO₂ emissions, a higher degree of community benefit and community support for the change is required to justify its implementation.

We understand that this decision will come as a disappointment to some members of the community, however changes to air traffic control operational procedures are complex and require a compelling case to do so.

The details of the Noise Abatement Procedure Trial assessment are available here.

We propose to host community information sessions to discuss the outcomes of the NAP trial assessment. These will take place in the areas of Dodges Ferry, Primrose Sands and Dunalley in the coming weeks. The dates, times and venues for these sessions will be advised on this page and will be advertised locally. You are encouraged to subscribe to receive updates.

Further work is currently being undertaken on recommended actions 4 and 6-10 of the Hobart Airspace Review Post Implementation Review. Updates on this work will be published on this page as the work progresses together with the opportunity to provide feedback.