Noise Action Plan for Brisbane

Welcome to our fifth quarterly update on the progress of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane.

During the first quarter of 2024, our focus has been on progressing flight path options to facilitate greater use of Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS), while also reducing the impact of this mode on bayside communities. This includes progressing the preferred options for over-water departures from the legacy runway to the south and west (as reported in the Phase 1 Options Assessment Report). Progressing these flight path changes requires extensive safety assessment and engagement with airlines to ensure we are designing flyable paths that meet stringent aviation safety requirements. We are also working on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) to provide additional information to the community when we release the flight path designs for final feedback.

Status update

2023 Engagement outcomes

Phase 1:

• flight path options that were progressed from this phase are undergoing detailed design as outlined above, ahead of further engagement
• feedback on the Options Assessment Report has been reviewed and the updated report will be available soon.

Phase 2:

• Phase 2 options have been assessed and the Phase 2 Options Assessment Report will be available soon
• we are working on increased reporting in response to feedback received in this phase; we are also progressing updates to WebTrak and Aircraft in Your Neighbourhood.

Phase 3:

• we have completed reviewing feedback on Phase 3 flight path proposals
• assessment of options is now underway.

Priority actions from 2023

As noted in our last quarterly update, the majority of 2023 priority actions were complete. The remaining actions are:

Recommendation 1.4: Increase public reporting and transparency of operations – We completed engagement on reporting options and identified required actions. Changes to our existing online tools are required to support the increased reporting desired by the community, particularly around SODPROPS and Noise Abatement Procedures, along with additional WebTrak information. This is being progressed and the first reports are expected to be available from mid-2024.

Recommendation 2.2: Expand the use of SODPROPS mode – We identified the actions required to expand the use of SODPROPS to a 24/7 mode, where weather and operating conditions allow. Not all required actions could be completed in 2023 because flight path changes are required. These more complex changes are being progressed for completion this year, with other actions in progress to facilitate ongoing expansion of SODPROPS use.

All Package 3 options developed by Airservices Australia in 2023 have been provided to Trax International to progress as part of their Package 3 and Package 4 delivery. This includes the feedback already contributed by community and industry.

Upcoming engagement

Before the June/July 2024 school holidays, we will bring new and preferred options to the community for your feedback. These are expected to include:

• detailed designs for over-water departures from the legacy runway (from Phase 1, as outlined above
• new flight path proposals to reduce the complexity of Brisbane airspace operations; these will further facilitate expanded use of SODPROPS
• Package 3 design options developed by Trax International.

Additional information

Earlier this year, we announced the engagement of external consultants, Trax International (for Package 3 and Package 4 delivery) and Think Research (for independent assurance and technical advice). In the interest of transparency, we have prepared an outline of the scope of this engagement. You can download the scope of these services here.

An update to the Brisbane Baseline Model is now available. The new version includes operational data for 2023, and historic actual tracks for non-jet traffic are shown as dotted lines. The model can be accessed here, along with answers to questions we have received since the model was first released in 2023.

We are developing reports for short term noise monitoring placements. While live data will remain visible on WebTrak, the completion reports will soon be available for all past placements. They will be published through Aircraft in Your Neighbourhood, where you can also review monthly data from long term monitors. We will also continue to review the placement of noise monitors as we progress through the completion of Package 3 and Package 4 of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane.

We're in the process of planning our next engagement phase.

Stay informed by registering here to receive alerts when new updates are available, or simply check back on this page regularly.

Airservices Australia is pleased to advise that Trax International (Trax), a leading provider of professional and technical services, has been appointed to deliver Packages 3 and 4 of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane. This follows an open market tender invitation in 2023, which received three responses, for appropriately-skilled and qualified consultants.

The Trax appointment follows their independent review of Airservices’ Post Implementation Review of the flight paths designed for Brisbane Airport's new parallel runway in July 2020. Recommendations from that review formed the basis of the action plan, which was developed to reduce the impact of aircraft noise following the introduction of the new runway.

Trax is already working on designs that respond to Package 3 and 4 actions, and they have advised that the first options should be ready to share with the wider Brisbane community after Easter.

We look forward to continuing to work with the Brisbane community as Trax delivers these actions. Subscribe to our alerts to keep up-to-date with developments on the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane and for opportunities to participate in our community engagement sessions on the flight path proposals.

Noise Action Plan for Brisbane – 2023 summary and quarterly update #4

Welcome to the fourth quarterly update on the progress of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane, which is also a summary of the first year of the program.

Over this last quarter we engaged with communities on Phase 3 options that focused on:

• reducing the concentration of flight paths west of Brisbane Airport
• reducing the impact of night-time operations.

We recorded 264 attendees at the six community drop-in sessions and four online sessions. Feedback closed on 10 December 2023 and we received 456 submissions.

We thank everyone who participated in this phase of engagement. We have commenced reviewing the submissions and will provide an update in the new year.

2023 summary

With 82 actions across 11 recommendations and four packages of work, the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane is a significant, complex program with many interdependencies.

In this first year of the program, we prioritised actions to:

1. Increase the use of Simultaneous Opposite Direction Runway Operations (SODPROPS). This is currently the priority operating mode at night, with both arrivals and departures over water.
2. Reduce the impact of SODPROPS operations on bayside communities to open up opportunities to expand SODPROPS use.
3. Reduce the impact of night-time operations on communities.
4. Reduce the concentration of flight paths over some locations.

It was also important to get the foundations of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane program right, with appropriate governance, resourcing, reporting and benchmarking processes established. This included publishing the final Communications Approach, a review of reporting requirements, and establishment of an interactive, online baseline model to enable the comparison of proposed flight path options with current operations and with those from before the new runway.

In 2023, we implemented the following changes:

1. Permanent extension of SODPROPS operations to 8am on Saturday and Sunday mornings and from 8pm on Saturday evening.
2. Removal of the Noise Abatement Procedure that enables use of the new runway over land from 5am for non-jet departures.
3. Non-jet early turn from the legacy runway over land before 6am so that aircraft cross the industrial area adjoining Brisbane Airport and complete their climb over water.
4. Change of runway from the new to the legacy for over water departures to the west, to address an existing operational safety issue.

Due to the complexity of airspace design, our commitment to community engagement, and essential prioritisation of safety in the air, changes involving new flight paths or alterations to existing flight paths and procedures cannot be made in a short timeframe. Most changes will take 12-18 months to implement.

We recognise that these requirements are potentially of less importance to the community than having an immediate reduction in aircraft noise. However, changing flight paths is a safety-critical action that takes time and also requires detailed engagement where flight paths may shift.

Throughout 2023 we have engaged with communities on options addressing arrival and departure operations over different communities, as well as options to expand SODPROPS use. Future phases of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane in 2024 will piece together some of these outcomes and will propose a more holistic operating environment.

We thank you for your extensive feedback this year and invite you to continue to work with us as we progress options from this year and present initial proposals for additional actions in 2024.

Further detail

We have made significant progress with Package 1 and Package 2 recommendations while also progressing several actions from Package 3.

Package 1 progress (Strong, transparent and representative governance)

This package is focused on the structures in place to support better engagement and decision making. Actions delivered include:

• Brisbane Airport Airspace Community Airspace Advisory Board (AAB) established by the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
• Program Management Office established
• Technical Coordination Group established
• Options Assessment Framework in development – this is being developed using independent third-party expertise based on research of international practice and is expected to be available for use in 2024
• Think Research Ltd appointed as the independent technical advisor to provide independent review and input to our design activity
• an appointment is nearing completion for an appropriately skilled and qualified consultant to deliver flight path and airspace design
• Communications Approach finalised
• review of current noise tool capability completed (Aircraft in Your Neighbourhood, WebTrak) with initial updates made to both, including expanded complaint reporting and improved operations coverage. Further improvements will continue.

Package 2 progress (Maximise flights over water)

This package is focused on maximising our capacity to operate SODPROPS while limiting impacts on bayside communities, as well as reducing the impact of night-time operations. Options were developed for:

• SODPROPS departure flight paths to the south
• over-water departure paths to the south for parallel runway operations
• high-altitude routes to and from the Sunshine and Gold Coast airports that go through Brisbane airspace, restricting SODPROPS use
• SODPROPS weather criteria
• night-time arrival paths across the city
• early morning non-jet operations.

Package 3 progress (Reduce the frequency and concentration of flights over communities)

This package is focused on reducing the impact of aircraft operations across greater Brisbane, including consideration of noise sharing and avoiding arrival and departure paths over the same communities. Options were developed for:

• night-time departure path to the north-west including noise-sharing options
• overwater departure paths to keep aircraft over water for longer, reducing impact on communities after they turn to travel over land
• overnight arrivals over water to the new runway to take aircraft further away from the southern part of Bribie Island
• jet aircraft over land departure early turn to the left from the legacy runway
• new runway over water departure to address a safety issue, which also reduces overflight of Bribie Island
• arrival routes from west of the airport to remove arriving traffic from communities also subjected to departing traffic
• baseline model developed and released for community feedback.

Three phases of engagement were completed presenting a mix of actions from all three packages and extensive feedback was received. Our review of this feedback continues.

Phase 1 options have been assessed with two options implemented, four options will progress to preferred stage and four have been discarded. In addition, the noise improvement trial for weekend SODPROPS was made permanent, while the full-length departure trial was discontinued as no community noise benefit was identified.

Phase 2 options are in the final stages of assessment and the outcomes will be released in the new year.

Quarterly update on 2023 priority actions

Our progress against our 2023 priority actions is reported below:

Airservices Australia is pleased to advise that the first changes to aircraft operations are being made as a result of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane.

Turboprop departures to the north between 5am to 6am

Between 5am and 6am, the Brisbane Airport Noise Abatement Procedures (NAPs) permit turboprop (propeller-driven) and other non-jet aircraft to depart over land from the new runway (19R). This enables Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) (where arrivals and departures are managed over Moreton Bay) to continue to operate over this period as traffic volumes increase, by removing turboprop operations from the traffic being managed over Moreton Bay.

When SODPROPS mode is not in operation, and when the wind is blowing from the south, non-jet departures are currently managed from the legacy runway over land prior to 6am. This is due to the approval condition preventing use of the new runway over land during night-time hours (10pm to 6am), other than the exception noted above when in SODPROPS mode.

Download the “Alternative over land turboprop departure operations 5am to 6am – North” fact sheet for more information.

As an outcome of Phase 1 options assessment, the following changes are now being implemented:

1. Removal of the NAP that allows the use of the new runway for non-jet aircraft departures between 5am and 6am (i.e. turboprop departures prior to 6am will be managed via the legacy runway when in SODPROPS mode or when wind is blowing from the south)
2. Introduction of a new NAP that requires all non-jet departures from the legacy runway over land to turn left immediately after take-off (at runway end and 600ft in altitude), to track back over the airport/industrial land to continue their climb over water.

This will apply to northbound and westbound non-jet aircraft, between 10pm and 6am, with the exception of medical flights or where required for the safe operation of the airspace. They will be required to remain over water until they reach 5000ft and will then be directed according to their destination.

This change is being introduced as a six-month trial to assess how well the aircraft can make the turn and to monitor noise impacts. Aircraft tracking and noise monitoring outcomes will be shared with the public.

After 6am, all aircraft operations will be managed according to the relevant priority mode. Where traffic levels and safety permit, non-jet aircraft departing on the legacy runway will continue to be directed to turn early and climb over water to reduce impact on residential areas.

Feedback on the trial can be provided over the next six months here. We are particularly interested to understand:

1. Has the change improved noise outcomes, and if so where?
2. Has the change resulted any new communities experiencing these operations, and if so where?
3. Any other feedback you would like to provide on this change.

Reinstatement of pre-existing legacy runway over water departure path to the west

For safety reasons, a proposed change was presented to the community to replace a departure path from the new runway over water, with the departure path used prior to the new runway for aircraft travelling to the west.

The current operations require a high degree of tactical management to address conflicts between turboprop departures to the north and turning jet aircraft to the west near Bribie Island.

In addition to removing a potential safety issue, this change reduces overflight of the Bribie Island community.

The flight path that is being reinstated for this departure is the same path used during single runway operations, with aircraft departing over water, turning right and crossing back over the coastline at the Lytton Industrial area.

Download the “Replace new runway departure to the west with pre-existing legacy runway departure” fact sheet for more information.

Please note:

We are able to implement these improvements now, as both involve the use of existing procedures and do not require design of new flight paths.

Other options being progressed from Phase 1 of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane require detailed design and will undergo further community engagement before changes are made to aircraft operations.

These changes will come into effect on Wednesday 13 December 2023.

Phase 1 options assessment

Airservices Australia actively engaged communities across greater Brisbane to seek input on options developed during Phase 1 of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane. These options focused on opportunities to shift night-time operations over water and to keep over-the-bay departures over water for longer, as well as early engagement on development of possible noise sharing options.

You can review the options assessment by clicking on the links below.

• Phase 1 Options Assessment Summary: Summary of phase one focus, assessment and next steps
• Phase 1 Options Assessment Report: Full assessment report.

You can provide feedback on the Phase 1 Options Assessment Report here. Feedback on the report is open for a four week period and will close on Sunday 17 December 2023.

Options that proceed to the preferred stage will be subject to detailed design, safety and environmental assessment, and a subsequent round of community and industry engagement based on this more detailed level of assessment.

Baseline model

Airservices has released on online, interactive baseline model. This is a web-based tool that you can use to gain insights into the flight paths and air traffic patterns that may impact your address.

You can access operational information from 2019 (before the new runway) and 2022 (our most recent full year of data). Information is presented visually and numerically based on the time of day and prevailing wind direction. Modelled noise contours are also provided.

We welcome feedback on any improvements. This tool will be used in 2024 to compare the options or preferred designs developed against current and pre-new runway operations. The tool will be updated in early 2024 with 2023 operations data.

You can access the baseline model here; and provide feedback on it here.

Temporary noise monitors

We have extended the operation of two temporary noise monitors deployed to Brookfield and Upper Brookfield until the end of November 2023. Live data from these monitors can be viewed on WebTrak. A report will be made available to the community when the noise monitoring is completed.

Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) has installed a temporary noise monitor in The Gap. Live data from this monitor is now available on WebTrak, with more information available on BAC’s Noise Management pages.

Airservices Australia is pleased to release the third set of proposed flight path options developed as part of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane.

In this phase we are focused on two actions. For each we have produced an information sheet with information on the existing operations and the options we have developed. We have provided supporting information on the suburbs overflown by the existing operation and by each of the proposed flight path options. There is also a scalable map for each – that is, an online map where you can search for a street address and zoom in to see how each option relates to that location.

Using the links below, you can download the information sheet and the supporting suburb information, view the map and provide us with your feedback.

Night-time arrivals (all locations)

Purpose: To reduce the impact of night-time arrivals on communities across the city

Information Sheet – Comparison of suburbs overflown – View scalable map (Northerly winds) – View scalable map (Southerly winds) – Provide feedback

Reduced concentration of daytime flight paths to the north-west

Purpose: To reduce the frequency and concentration of flights over communities to the north-west

Information Sheet – Comparison of suburbs overflown – View scalable map – Provide feedback

We are hosting a series of community engagement sessions, both in-person at various locations and also online, commencing 7 November 2023, where you can discuss these flight path options and provide your feedback. For more details and to register for a session. SESSIONS NOW ALL COMPLETED.

We are requesting feedback by 10 December 2023.

Phase 1 update

Following extensive engagement with the community earlier this year, we have finalised the Communications Approach, incorporating feedback from the community.

We have also completed assessment of the noise improvement trials that commenced in February 2022. The outcomes of these assessments are:

• Extended SODPROPS hours: As a community noise benefit was identified, the extended hours will be adopted as part of standard operating procedures, subject to weather and operational conditions.
• Restriction on intersection departures: The trial will be ceased due to lack of noise improvement; however, options to increase climb gradients or height requirements will be investigated.

Using the links below, you can download:

Communications Approach

• Communications Approach (final)
• Response to feedback on the Communications Approach
• Communications Approach containing tracked changes (to view the changes made based on community feedback).

Noise Improvement Trials

• Noise Improvement Trials Assessment Report

We are currently finalising our assessment of Phase 1 options and will release the result along with the interactive baseline model (current and pre-new runway operations) during November 2023.

Please note, while these sessions have all now been completed, submissions are open until Sunday 10 December.

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Residents across Greater Brisbane are invited to participate in community drop-in sessions and/or online sessions to discuss proposed flight path options developed to reduce the impact of night-time operations and the concentration of flights over some communities.

You can drop in at any time during a four-hour session. If you are coming to one of our sessions, please register here.

Drop-in session information:

There will also be four online sessions to present an overview of the Phase 3 proposed flight path options and to answer questions for community members who can’t attend in person. Log in details for our online sessions will be sent to registered participants ahead of each session (please register here).

Online session times:

Noise Action Plan for Brisbane: Phase 3 Engagement

We will be commencing our next phase of engagement in four weeks. We will release information on the new options during the week commencing 30 October 2023. These will focus on:

• Reducing the concentration of flight paths west of the airport
• Reducing the impact of night-time operations
• Additional options to improve our ability to operate in Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) mode during daytime hours.