Quarterly Update #8

Over the last quarter of 2024 we:

  • implemented changes to over-water departures
  • reviewed feedback on our previous round of engagement*
  • prepared preferred options for engagement early this year*
  • completed assessment reports for Phase 3 and Phase 4 engagement
  • evaluated the trial for non-jet departures over land.

* This work is undertaken with the support of our consultants Trax International. Package 4 actions have also been progressed in parallel to other work – due to scope and scale of these actions they will take longer to complete.

Noise Action Plan for Brisbane reports now available

The following documents can all be downloaded as PDFs from the links below or accessed via the document panel to the right-hand side of this page.

Phase 3 Options Assessment Report covers:

  • Reduced concentration of daytime flight paths west of the airport
  • Night-time arrivals (all locations).

This report is open for feedback until Sunday 23 February 2025.

The Phase 4 Preferred Options Assessment Report covers:

  • Alternative over-water departure paths
  • Additional segregated modes
  • The Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) Plan.

This report is open for feedback until Sunday 23 February 2025.

Please note the initial options engaged on in Phase 4 – Standard instrument departures for Archerfield Airport – are being assessed separately.

The Phase 1 Options Assessment Report, which has been revised in response to community feedback.

Upcoming focus

Over the first quarter in 2025 we will:

  • complete designs for preferred options for Package 3 and release these for community feedback
  • release evaluation outcomes of the trial for non-jet departures over land
  • complete assessment of proposed departures for Archerfield Airport
  • continue to progress Package 4 actions.

2018 Environmental Impact Assessments

We have had requests from the community to share the Environmental Impact Assessments completed in 2018 as part of the final flight path design process for the new parallel runway that opened in 2020. Airservices Australia is releasing this documentation in the interest of transparency.

Please note, these are historical documents prepared for internal use in compliance with legislative requirements, rather than for public information. As such, they are quite lengthy and technical in many parts, and they may also contain redactions where identifying information was included.

These can be downloaded from the document panel to the right (or below, on a mobile device), noting some are large files.

Over-water departure paths weather update

The new over-water departure paths from the legacy runway were implemented as planned on 28 November 2024. Initial community feedback was positive with residents reporting improved noise outcomes. However, the weather for many days in December did not enable use of the new departure paths and largely restricted use of SODPROPS.

The impact of weather on air traffic can be hard to see from the ground. For example, in Brisbane in the first week of December last year, the weather appeared to be mostly fine. However, the weather system that had pushed through over the first weekend continued to affect operations early in the week as there were still storm cells evident and more were forecast. This necessitated multiple runway changes for individual aircraft and tactical intervention from Air Traffic Control (that is, the controllers had to direct each aircraft by compass headings, not by issuing the published flight paths). Pilots also requested alternative tracking to remain clear of poor weather.

It’s worth noting that the Bureau of Meteorology radar only shows rainfall, as does the rainfall layer on WebTrak. Pilots and our air traffic controllers look at other aspects of weather, for example, there may be windshear forecast, observed, and acted on. Because adverse weather can be a safety issue for aircraft, our controllers provide alternatives in poor weather conditions.

Keep up to date with SODPROPS usage by reviewing reports on Aircraft in Your Neighbourhood. These reports were developed in 2024 and are being continuously improved and updated. Be sure to select a Brisbane location to find information relevant to Brisbane Airport.