Noise Action Plan for Brisbane

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.

Noise Action Plan for Brisbane – Quarterly Update #3

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

Over this last quarter we engaged with communities on Phase 2 options which focused on:

• Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) – expanded use
• Night-time overland departures to the north – noise sharing options
• Segregated operating modes – additional modes
• Increased operational reporting.

We recorded 848 attendees at the 14 community drop-in sessions and three online sessions. The submission period for Phase 2 closed on 10 September.

We also continued our analysis of feedback received on Phase 1 options in April and May of this year. We will release the outcomes of our assessment as soon as it is complete.

Status update

We have continued to focus on delivering our 2023 priority actions, while also progressing with work to support 2024 deliverables. Our progress against each priority action is reported below:

We are continuing to progress a number of other actions relating to recommendation 1.1 of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane, including:

• Development of an options assessment framework using independent third-party expertise
• Review of current noise tool capability (Aircraft In Your Neighbourhood, WebTrak) and options to improve the quality of information provided
• Procurement of a qualified third party to support an independent assurance process of our design activity
• Procurement of appropriately skilled and qualified consultants to support flight path and airspace design.

Upcoming engagement

After the September school holidays, we will present a third round of design options. These will focus on:

• Expanded SODPROPS operations – capacity, decision-making, and daytime operation
• Reduced concentration of flight paths west of the airport
• Tactical over water operations
• Reduced impact of night-time operations - all locations
• Selected package 3 procedure designs to reduce the impact of arrivals from the north and north west.

Additional information

Correction to altitude data: Night-time over land departures – north

Please note a correction to data shared in the Phase 2 fact sheet on options for “Night-time over land departures – north”.

For the current Standard Instrument Departure (SID), we presented altitudes based on actual flights that had taken these paths in 2022. We don’t have actual data for the proposed options, so we modelled the altitudes using specified weather, aircraft type and other parameters. This means that the comparison of altitudes presented between current operations and proposed options was not based on the same parameters - comparing “apples with oranges” so to speak.

We’ve since updated the altitudes for current the SID using modelled rather than actual data, based on the same parameters used for the proposed options. This updated fact sheet can be downloaded here.

We apologise for this error and for any impact it may have had on community consideration of the options. Please note that further engagement will be conducted on all proposed noise sharing options, including those presented in Phase 2, ahead of decisions being made on implementation.

Community wellbeing support

To support community wellbeing, Airservices Australia has extended our Employee Assistance Program to any community member who is feeling negatively affected by aircraft operations. This is a confidential service, free of charge to community members, and is provided completely independently of Airservices Australia. All personal details will be kept confidential. More information is available here.

Phase two engagement

With our next round of engagement sessions coming up soon, we’ve received lots of questions and seen lots of discussion in social media. It is great to see so much discussion around the options and we look forward to seeing people at the sessions.

We’ve gathered some quick answers to the most common questions. Feel free to share this information in your community.

The mailout

1. A community notice on the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane was delivered to all residential letterboxes in Brisbane, Redlands, and Logan, as well as parts of Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Gold Coast.
2. The mailout was requested by community members to raise awareness of the program for residents who may not access online information sources or broadcast media.
3. The notice was printed on 100% recycled paper.

Night-time over land departures – north

1. Noise sharing options do not increase the capacity of the airport and will not enable more aircraft to fly over communities. The sharing options are proposed as an alternative to a current path, not as an additional path that would operate at the same time.
2. The sharing options proposed do not put more flights over communities to the north-west. The current volume of traffic would be shared across the various flight paths between the airport and the waypoint to provide respite for communities subject to the current flight path operations. One or more of the options could be progressed for this purpose.
3. The WACKO waypoint community would not get more flights over them if any of these options were implemented – it would be the same amount of traffic.
4. We are currently working on other options for noise sharing on arrivals as well as departures and will share these proposals later in the program.

Session locations

1. Drop-in session locations have been selected based on a review of the proposed options against current operations, to identify communities that would likely experience a noticeable change if any of the options were implemented. Different communities will be the focus during each stage, depending on the option being considered.
2. Subject to venue availability, we have attempted to hold sessions in these key locations or within a 10 to 15 minute drive.
3. It is not possible to have a session in every community, but sessions should be accessible to all, and we have online sessions for those who cannot attend in person.

New on WebTrak

Live now: Temporary noise monitors have been installed in Brookfield and Upper Brookfield. A completion report will be made available to the community once we have three months of data captured. The temporary monitors are located at:

• Jones Rd, Brookfield (to capture aircraft departure operations - see green aircraft tracking information in the image below)
• Carbine Rd, Upper Brookfield (to capture aircraft arrival operations - see blue aircraft tracking information in the image below).

Live now: The area covered by WebTrak has been expanded to 80km distance from Brisbane Airport (up from 40km) and the delay to view operations reduced to 15 minutes (down from 40 minutes); work is continuing with our supplier to reduce the time delay further and expand these updates to our other airports on WebTrak.

Airservices Australia is pleased to share the second set of design options developed as part of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane.

For each topic, we have produced a fact sheet with information on the existing operation and the options we have developed. There is also a scalable map for each topic; 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 for each topic, you can download the fact sheet, view the map and provide feedback. There is also a fact sheet providing an overview of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane.

Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS)

Purpose: To support greater use of SODPROPS, including daytime operation

Fact Sheet - View scalable map - Provide feedback

Night-time over land departures – north

Purpose: To reduce the impact of concentrated night-time operations on communities

Fact Sheet - View scalable map - Provide feedback

Additional segregated operating modes

Purpose: To enable operations in this mode to be shared across both runway communities

Fact Sheet - View scalable map (6C) - View scalable map (6D) - Provide feedback

Increased operational reporting

Purpose: To improve transparency and quality of information provided to the community

Fact Sheet - Provide feedback

We are hosting a series of engagement sessions commencing 8 August 2023, where you can discuss these options and provide feedback. For more details and to register for a session, click here.

We are requesting feedback by 12 midnight, Sunday 10 September 2023.

Phase one update

We are continuing to review the feedback received from phase one engagement. We will release the outcome, including any decisions made, as soon as we complete this assessment.

Phase Two Engagement

Residents across Brisbane are invited to participate in drop-in sessions to discuss the second set of flight path options being developed to increase flights over Moreton Bay, reduce the impact of night-time operations and reduce the concentration of flights over some communities.

We will release information on these options in the week commencing 31 July 2023 and will welcome feedback until 10 September.

You can drop in at any time during a four-hour session. If you are coming to one of our sessions, please register online here, so that we have sufficient staff and materials available and can provide any updated venue information, if necessary.

Drop in session information:

There will also be two online sessions to provide an overview of this phase and answer questions for those who can’t attend in person. We will respond to as many questions as possible. Log in details for online sessions will be sent to registered participants ahead of each session (register here).

Upcoming engagement for the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane

In four weeks’ time we will commence engagement with the community on the next phase of options we have developed as part of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane.

This will include updates on and options for:

• Northbound overland departures at night
• Expanded use of SODPROPS (conflicting flight paths and weather criteria)
• Alternative segregated modes (arrivals to one runway and departures from the other)
• Reporting on Noise Abatement Procedures, SODPROPS and complaints.

We are planning to release information on these options during the week commencing 31 July 2023 and will continue engagement through to early September 2023. Drop-in engagement sessions and online discussions will be scheduled from the week commencing 7 August 2023. Information on dates and locations will be shared following confirmation of venue bookings, with a minimum of two weeks’ notice.

We propose to alert communities to these activities through newspaper and radio advertising, media articles, local Facebook groups, a mailout and information provided via community representative groups and elected representatives. We would welcome feedback on other ways we should alert communities to this engagement.

Phase one update

We were planning to release the outcomes of phase one engagement at the same time as the phase two options, however due to the volume of feedback received it is taking longer than expected to complete our review and assessment. We will release the outcomes as soon as possible and thank everyone who provided feedback on the first lot of options.

Noise monitoring

We are working with Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) to develop a temporary noise monitoring program and also on providing reporting on temporary monitoring already completed. BAC has placed a temporary noise monitor at Taringa, and we are currently arranging to have two temporary monitors placed at Upper Brookfield to capture arrival and departure operations. We will provide a further update in the next two weeks.

Noise Action Plan for Brisbane – Quarterly Update

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

Over this last quarter we engaged with communities on options to reduce the impact of:

• Legacy runway over-water operations to the south – day and night
• New runway over-water operations to the west
• Legacy runway over land operations to the north between 10pm and 6am
• Early morning turboprop operations
• Early jet turn from the legacy runway.

We also shared our draft Communications Approach, proposed baseline model content and structure and information on the 2022 noise improvement trials to support upcoming assessment.

We would like to thank everyone who participated. We recorded 877 (updated following final data review of all locations) attendees at the 13 community drop-in sessions and have received 1656 submissions which we are now reviewing.

Status update

We have continued to focus on delivering our 2023 priority actions. Our progress against each priority action is reported below:

We are continuing to progress a number of other actions relating to recommendation 1.1 of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane, including:

• Development of an options assessment framework using independent third party expertise
• Review of current noise tool capability (Aircraft In Your Neighbourhood, WebTrak) and options to improve the quality of information provided
• Procurement of an qualified third party to support an independent assurance process of our design activity
• Procurement of appropriately skilled and qualified consultants to support flight path and airspace design.

Upcoming Engagement

After the June/July school holidays, we will present the second round of design options we have developed in response to Package 2 - Maximise flights over the water and Package 3 - Reduce the frequency and concentration of flights over communities.

This will focus primarily on options to increase operations over water, notably Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS).

We will also share at this time:

• Outcomes of phase one engagement – including next steps and implementation timeframes
• Final Communications Approach – including how feedback has shaped this approach
• Options to reduce the impact of legacy runway over land operations to the north between 10pm and 6am – based on the feedback we received during round one discussions
• Increased reporting on operations – initial reporting of SODPROPS, Noise Abatement Procedures and other operations – based on feedback we received during round one discussions and during the Post Implementation Review.

We will release information on the planned timing of phase two engagement four weeks ahead of face-to-face sessions commencing, with the specific dates and locations for these sessions published a minimum of two weeks ahead.

We propose to alert communities to these activities through Engage Airservices, newspaper advertising, media articles, local Facebook groups, and information provided via community representative groups and elected representatives. We will also consider feedback received on the Communications Approach in preparing for this second phase of engagement. You can see how we promoted phase one engagement here.

Additional information

During Post Implementation Review (PIR) engagement sessions, we referenced an international study relating to the contribution of aircraft operations on local air quality, in response to concerns raised about impacts on rainwater tanks. We committed to share the study details but did not do so at the time. We apologise for this. We were reminded of this committed action during the recent drop-in sessions and the information referenced can be found in this report – White paper on air quality, Aviation impacts on air quality: State of the science.

We note the study referenced dates back to 1992. A more contemporary study of aircraft emissions can be found in the - Impacts of Aviation NOx Emissions on Air Quality, Health, and Climate.