Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

This metric shows the average number of flights per day on a specific flight path.

If the path is used 24 hours a day, the average covers the full 24 hours. If it’s only used during the day or night, the average is based on those specific periods:

• Day: 6am to 10pm
• Night: 10pm to 6am

The numbers are based on real flight data recorded by radar from January to September 2024. This period has been used as it was the most recent data available when assessments were commenced on the preferred options compared to the current flight paths. The assessment aims to provide an “apples with apples” comparison to explain the potential change in operations.

This metric shows the total distance, in nautical miles (NM), from the end of the runway to where the flight path begins or ends (depending on whether it’s an arrival or departure). 1NM= 1.85km.

This is indicated on the maps with the shaded buffer 1km either side of the centreline out to 40NM/74km.

This metric shows the areas (also referred to as contours) under each flight path where noise levels on the ground from the most common aircraft types are expected to reach 60 decibels (dB) or more and 70 dB or more (measured as LAmax, the loudest single event level).

Each information sheet includes an estimate of how many people live within the areas exposed to these noise levels.

The most common aircraft type operating on the jet departure and arrival paths is the Boeing 737-800. The most common aircraft type operating on the non-jet (turboprop and piston engine) paths is the Dash 8 Q400. Noise modelling is based on whichever type most often flies the specific path.

The Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) were prepared by Trax as they developed the preferred options so they could confirm the benefit or otherwise of each option, as well as progress the necessary formal assessment. These EIAs use data from 1 January to 31 July 2024, as this was the period of data available at that time. 

The movement data later used to inform the information sheets for engagement was taken from more recent 1 January to 30 September 2024 data. 

The different periods to result in some variation in movement numbers, however it does not affect the assessment in terms of confirming any ‘significant’ impact as defined under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act).

Phase 6 is the latest set of flight path change proposals from Airservices Australia. It brings together community feedback from previous phases and offers updated options to reduce the concentration and frequency of aircraft noise, especially over communities most impacted by both arrivals and departures. The changes aim to distribute noise more fairly, raise aircraft altitudes where possible, and reduce the impact of night-time flights.

These changes are being proposed as part of Airservices Australia's commitment to listen to communities and improve how flight paths are planned and managed. Under the Airservices Community Engagement Standard, major changes to flight paths must include two rounds of community engagement:

• One round to share the initial proposals and gather feedback.
• A second round to show how that feedback was considered and present the refined options.

This new round of proposals is the second round of engagement for Package 3 of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane, which looks at ways to reduce how often and how heavily affected suburbs are overflown. The goal is to spread out flights more where possible, without compromising safety or efficiency. Most of these proposals are refinements of options put forward in Phase 5 but also reflect outcomes of earlier phases of engagement in 2023 and 2024.

Community input has played a major role. Through multiple engagement phases commencing in 2023, residents provided feedback via surveys, drop-in sessions, written submissions, and meetings. This feedback directly shaped many of the refinements in Package 3, particularly regarding altitude increases, spreading of flight paths, and addressing night-time noise.

Start with the "overview" information sheet for this phase to see which options may affect your local area. Then go to the information sheets that relate to each of those options and also check them out on the Brisbane Baseline Model.

This is an online resource where you can select the option of interest to you, access interactive maps to look up addresses, zoom in, compare current and proposed flight paths including modelled noise contours, and watch videos of the options in this round of engagement.

Yes, under these proposals, some areas would experience new or more frequent flights than they do today. This is a result of a deliberate approach known as noise sharing.

The aim is to reduce the burden on communities that are currently overflown more frequently and with higher levels of concentration, often by both arriving and departing aircraft, and sometimes during both the day and night. By spreading flights more evenly across a wider area and raising altitudes where possible, the goal is to reduce the frequency of noise events for those most affected.

This approach does mean that more people overall may experience some degree of aircraft noise, but less often. Instead of a small number of suburbs being impacted frequently, more suburbs may experience flights, but less often than those who are currently overflown.

Importantly, these proposals do not increase the total number of flights. These changes are about how existing and future flights are distributed, not how many there will be.

Brisbane Airport Corporation’s Master Plan contains information on forecast future flight numbers.

Yes. Generally, higher aircraft generate less noticeable noise on the ground. Several proposals aim to keep arriving aircraft higher for longer and enable more gradual descents or continuous climb departures, which also reduces noise and fuel burn.

It depends on your location. 

The proposals are designed to reduce concentration and spread flights across different areas of the city. In some locations, this will mean fewer flights. In others, flights may remain the same or increase.

In 2024 we proposed an initial concept for over land departures from the new runway to be offset from the arrivals (these communities wouldn't experience both arrivals and departures. You can read more about this in the Package 3 preferred option 1.1 Departures over land to the north and west from the new runway. Regardless of the degree of the turn investigated, all options resulted in flying over areas of existing high population density and also designated for future further growth. We are consulting with local and state government planning authorities (ie Brisbane City Council and Queensland Government) to ensure we understand any constraints of plans already being implemented and identify potential best alignments for any flight path we develop.

There are limited options to reduce overflight of communities that are in a direct line with the runways, especially those closer to the airport.

We are proposing to introduce new short approaches that would take some traffic away from communities overflown by the long approaches. We are still investigating options to change the initial departure path from the new runway, so it does not track over the same communities as arriving traffic. 

The best options for runway aligned communities, are those that seek to gain more Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS), where both arrivals and departures occur over the waters of Moreton Bay when weather conditions and lower traffic volumes permit. In this round, we have also proposed a new night-time only option that may also provide benefit to these communities. 

Airservices is currently inviting feedback on these options. Your comments can influence which changes are implemented and how they are refined. You can give us your feedback in person (find dates, locations and how to make a booking on our Engage Airservices Brisbane page here). 

You can also give us your feedback on this page. If you prefer to provide feedback via email or mail, we encourage you to structure your responses using these key questions:

1. Which specific option are you providing feedback on?
2. On a scale of 1 (very poorly) to 5 (very well), how well do you think the change proposal meets the aims of that preferred option (as outlined in the information sheet)?
3. Please explain your rating – what are the main benefits and/or drawbacks of these change proposals that influenced your score?
4. Do you have any other feedback on this preferred option?
Email feedback to: communityengagement@airservicesaustralia.com
Send written feedback to: Locked Bag 747, Eagle Farm QLD 4009
Feedback closes on Sunday 17th August 2025.

To make the most of your participation, we recommend the following:

1. Familiarise yourself with the proposals: There is extensive information available via this page that you can access at a time that suits you. As well as information sheets for each option, there is a recorded webinar where Trax team members share key elements of each option, as well as the Brisbane Baseline Model where you can zoom in on areas of interest to see modelled noise contours, current and proposed flight paths and video summaries of the options.   
2. Bring prepared questions to the in-person session: Bring any specific questions or concerns to the in-person meeting, where we can address them directly and relate them to your personal experience with aircraft noise.

Community members who do not have access to the internet or are not comfortable with this information channel, can request copies of the information sheets be posted to them by emailing communityengagement@airservicesaustralia.com or writing to Locked Bag 747, Eagle Farm QLD 4009.

Your feedback will be carefully reviewed and considered alongside industry feedback, and operational, technical, environmental factors.  Safety will always be our highest priority and does mean that some feedback is not able to be actioned. 

Final decisions will be made by Airservices and shared once our assessments are complete.

All preferred options are assessed against our established Flight Path Design Principles, which having given regard to safety and compliance with the required aviation standards as the highest priority, aim to strike a balance between community, environment and efficiency. 

Even after decisions are made, implementing changes takes time. It involves not only design refinement and regulatory steps, but also training for air traffic controllers and pilots, updates to air traffic systems and procedures, and thorough safety checks. These steps are critical to ensuring any new flight paths are safe.

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 must take off and land into the wind or operate with only a small amount of tail wind (wind blowing from behind the plane) for safety. Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) is the operational mode where both arrivals and departures take place over water. This means that depending on wind direction, either departing or arriving aircraft will be subject to a tailwind. This tailwind cannot exceed 5 knots. In addition, the runways must be dry and visibility good to operate in this mode.

SODPROPS is also a “low capacity” mode. This is because it involves having all aircraft operating in the small area over Moreton Bay. As such, it can only be used when the airport isn’t busy with higher numbers of arrivals and departures, as it is during most hours of the day.

When wind and weather conditions are not met, or when the airport is busy, “parallel runway” modes must be used. Depending on wind direction, this involves arrivals over water and departures over land (when winds are from the south) or arrivals over land and departures over water (when winds are from the north).

The Noise Action Plan for Brisbane is making improvements to increase our ability to use of SODPROPS whenever traffic volumes, weather, and other operational conditions permit.

SODPROPS stands for Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations. It’s a mode of operation where both arrivals and departures happen over water, helping to reduce overflight of communities.

Many people consider it the preferred operational mode, but its use is limited by weather, wind direction, and traffic volumes.

There are four key weather conditions that constrain SODPROPS use, as well as traffic limits. SODPROPS can only be used when all of the following conditions are in place:

• a cloud ceiling of no less than 2500ft (762m)
• a tailwind of no more than 5 knots
• visibility of no less than 8km 
• a dry runway
• less than 20 arrivals per hour. 

Air traffic controllers must maintain vigilance over a very local and at the same time broadly regional section of airspace. Our team monitors weather information including the winds at each end of each runway and weather systems at quite some distance from the airport because aircraft travel very swiftly and weather can be quite changeable. This means we are making decisions for safe aviation based on information that isn’t available to community members who may be observing weather conditions in a different suburb or even via the Bureau of Meteorology. As such, there will be times when residents think conditions are appropriate, but it is not safely possible to operate in SODPROPS mode.

The target established for SODPROPS operations in Brisbane is an annual target not a monthly target. It is expected that some months will be below this target, for example the wetter months, and some will be above it. It was established considering the historic weather conditions in Brisbane and traffic numbers at different times of the day and days of the week at Brisbane Airport.

This year to date has had much higher rainfall that other years and this has affected the use of SODPROPS. We had anticipated much higher use from March/April onward, based on the historically lower levels of rainfall across the cooler months, however this has not been possible.

We continue to use SODPROPS whenever it is safe to do so.

Independent parallel runway operations, or IPRO, is a mode where each runway operates independently, allowing flights to land and depart simultaneously on both runways. This is because there is sufficient separation between planes travelling to and from each runway and as such arrivals and departures using one runway are not affected by what’s happening on the other. 

Brisbane Airport’s government-approved Major Development Plan for the new runway included the use of independent parallel runway operations to help manage future growth in traffic. It is a high-capacity mode that enables more planes to land more frequently during peak periods. As this mode is part of the approved Brisbane Airport operations, Airservices Australia is required to provide this capability and operate this mode when needed.

Operations at Brisbane Airport are divided into two time periods. The day period is 6am to 10pm and the night period is 10pm to 6am.

The shorter curved approaches, called Required Navigation Performance – Authorisation Required (RNP-AR), can only be flown by aircraft equipped with advanced navigation equipment and a certified crew. They allow for more precise and flexible flight path designs, including arrival paths that join the final approach for landing closer to the runway. 

Nearly half of the fleet operating at Brisbane Airport in 2024 were capable of using short approaches; however, the current RNP-AR approach from the north was used by approximately 8% of all flights arriving over land to the new runway.

We have proposed preferred option for Package 3 to introduce new connections to the RNP-AR approaches to allow more aircraft to use them, reducing overflight of long approach communities.

The straight-in, runway aligned long approaches are the primary approaches at Brisbane Airport. They follow an Instrument Landing System (ILS), which is a navigation aid that helps pilots align with the runway, maintain the correct descent angle, and land safely, even in poor weather or low visibility.

A Noise Abatement Procedure (NAP) is a procedure designed to reduce the impact of aircraft noise on the community. Air traffic control and pilots apply the NAPs whenever possible, but they are not mandatory. Learn more about Brisbane Airport NAPs at Aircraft in Your Neighbourhood. Check that you have nominated a Brisbane location if you don't see the NAPs reporting tab in the left menu bar.

Four federally-leased airports in Australia have a night-time curfew: Sydney, Adelaide, Gold Coast and Essendon.  Brisbane Airport operates under a 24-hour schedule and does not have a flight cap or curfew. To help reduce the impact of night-time flights, noise abatement procedures are in place. These include using flight paths that avoid heavily populated areas where possible, and directing night-time departures to take off over the water when wind and weather conditions allow.

The Noise Action Plan for Brisbane focuses specifically on improving how aircraft noise is managed through flight path design, procedures, and community engagement. Decisions about introducing a curfew or limiting the number of flights are outside the scope of this plan and outside Airservices Australia’s legislated role under the Air Services Act 1995. 

There is a great deal of information about aviation, current and previous flight paths, aircraft numbers, altitude and noise levels (some modelled and actual historic data) across the following platforms:

• The Brisbane Baseline Model is an interactive tool that you can use to gain insights into the flight paths and air traffic patterns that may operate over your address. You can access operational information from 2019 (before the new runway), 2022, 2023 and 2024 https://engage.airservicesaustralia.com/baseline-model 
• Aircraft in Your Neighbourhood has a great deal of general aviation information; plus, if you select a Brisbane location, relevant noise monitoring and other reporting https://aircraftnoise.airservicesaustralia.com/ 
• WebTrak shows aircraft movements and noise monitoring data in close to real time (there is a three-minute delay). You can also set it to replay air traffic movements from the previous three months, or review historical data from 2011 https://webtrak.emsbk.com/bne3

The Noise Action Plan for Brisbane has four “Packages” or work, containing 11 recommendations and 82 individual actions. Actions from all four packages are being progressed in parallel and so engagement periods or “Phases” have often had options from more than one package to present to the community.

In 2023, we delivered three phases of engagement, responding to Packages 1 and 2, and parts of Package 3. In 2024, we delivered two phases of engagement, responding to Package 2 and 3.

Package 1 focuses on governance, process and reporting.

Package 2 seeks to get more operations over water and reduce the impact of night-time noise. 

Package 3 explores options to reduce the frequency and concentration of flights over communities within the current constraints of our airspace.  

Package 4 explores the wider airspace with the aim of identifying larger changes to improve noise outcomes. 

In January 2024, Airservices Australia announced that Trax International (Trax), a leading provider of professional and technical services, had 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 Noise Action Plan for Brisbane, which was developed to reduce the impact of aircraft noise following the introduction of the new runway.

We look forward to continuing to work with the Brisbane community as Trax delivers these packages. 

Several changes have been implemented, both in response to completion of Noise Action Plan for Brisbane actions, but also in response to community requests and feedback. Changes include: 

• Pre-6am early turn for turboprop aircraft to reduce flights over land
• Removed pre-6am turboprop aircraft departures from the new runway to avoid overflight of NPR communities
• New departure paths over water to align standard operations with SODPROPS operations to improve transition timeframes and ability to use SODPROPS when conditions are appropriate
• Additional tracking over water when departing the legacy runway to get aircraft higher as they cross over the Redlands area, reducing noise impacts
• Extended SODPROPS operating hours from 10pm to 6am daily, to now commence at 9am and include Saturday morning to 10am and from Saturday 12 noon to Sunday 4pm.
• Implemented directions to use SODPROPS at all times when conditions are available, regardless of priority hours
• Introduced two additional segregated modes to share overland operations in both northerly and southerly wind conditions between both runways, and not just the new runway as initially implemented
• Implemented a direction to keep aircraft tracking on departure paths to 20,000 feet to avoid tracking away from published departure paths. 
• Reduced overflight of Bribie Island by moving one over-water departure path to the legacy runway

Launched the Brisbane Baseline Model, plus Noise Abatement Procedure reporting (SODPROPS usage, preferred runway operations, preferred flight paths) and improved other reporting processes including publication of short- term noise monitoring reports.

Feedback on proposed options is not a voting process. We do note the percentage of people who are support or don't support changes, but this is in the context of many other factors we consider in our assessment of options.

Community feedback also captures any concerns that may need to be addressed if the option/s were to proceed to further assessment and potential implementation. 

In all cases, we are seeking to identify outcomes that will have the best overall outcome for Greater Brisbane.

We have proactively promoted every phase of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane via a range of channels and tools including letterbox drops; radio, print and social media advertising; provision of information to MPs, councils and advocacy groups asking them to share it with their networks; media interviews; posters and direct emails to subscribers.

We understand that changes to airspace can seem slow; this is because they require thorough investigation and engagement before publication of new or amended flight paths. 

The changes being considered as part of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane can be complex. The airspace around Brisbane contains many interrelated factors that need to be carefully balanced. This means that some actions take longer than others to design.

We want to ensure the community are part of the decision-making process, particularly where we are proposing to move flight paths over new communities. It is important that these communities have the opportunity to learn about these proposals, understand the benefit and provide their comments. While it might seem like a lot of engagement, we are committed to ensure all communities know what changes are being proposed and are part of the discussion.

Even after decisions are made, implementing changes takes time. It involves not only design refinement and regulatory steps, but also training for air traffic controllers and pilots, updates to air traffic systems and procedures, and thorough safety checks. These steps are critical to ensuring any new flight paths are safe.