Implementation of changes to over-water departure flight paths

Further to our notification of 30 October 2024, Airservices is pleased to confirm that the new over-water departure paths from the legacy runway commenced operation on 28 November 2024. This follows two rounds of engagement, in April 2023 and May 2024, with the final designs reflecting feedback received from community and industry stakeholders.

Further information about the new flight paths can be found in our previous post. Below are answers to some common questions we’ve recently received about these changes.

What is SODPROPS?

Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) is the operational mode where both arrivals and departures take place over water at the same time. It is a complex operational mode, available only during periods of low traffic and when specific weather-related operating conditions are met.

You can learn more about these conditions and explore the SODPROPS flight paths here.

Do these new departure paths only apply during SODPROPS?

They apply to both SODPROPS and standard over-water departures at all times of day with the exception of one flight path. The path to the north-east, via waypoint BIXAD, is only changing for SODPROPS mode.

You can see the flight paths for all operating conditions in the maps here.

Why can’t all flights be over Moreton Bay?

We understand that many community members consider that all flights should be over the waters of Moreton Bay. However, it is not possible for all flights to arrive and depart over the water.

Aircraft operate most safely when flying into the wind on both take-off and landing. They can take a small amount of tailwind (wind blowing from behind the aircraft) but this is limited by international safety standards.

Additionally, the small amount of airspace over the waters of Moreton Bay cannot safely cater for the volume of aircraft movements during busier periods.

As a result, aircraft do need to fly over land and communities.

Brisbane Airport’s runways are positioned to enable approximately 50 per cent of all flights to be over water in standard operations. Aircraft arrive over water and depart over land when there is a southerly wind, and arrive over land and depart over water when there is a northerly wind. SODPROPS is used when traffic and weather conditions allow, increasing the percentage of flights going over water.

Why can’t departures continue further over the ocean?

We have received some suggestions that after taking off over the water, departing aircraft should continue to track between Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island and make their way further south or north before crossing land again. This is not currently possible for several reasons:

• the Australian Defence Force has extensive restricted areas off the coast that civil aircraft can’t enter. These prevent the use of airspace further east and also restrict options both north and south of Brisbane.
• longer flight paths increase aircraft track miles and emissions. Any increase in track miles is one of the considerations to be balanced in determining options.
• there are specific points at which aircraft must join the broader network of flight paths (highways in the sky) to travel to their intended destination. These would need to be redesigned to facilitate joining from new points over the ocean. Without these points, it would be similar to a car trying to join a motorway without an on-ramp.