Current safety work for Sydney runways one six left and one six right departures.  

These departure procedure changes are being implemented to introduce separation assurance between aircraft departing consecutively off the runways one six left and one six right as well as separation with arriving traffic from the east. These changes are part of our continued focus on safety improvement.  

The Standard Instrument Departures for one six left and one six right previously had no positive separation assurance, relying on the vigilance of air traffic controllers to support aircraft to stay safely apart.  

On one six left, the procedure required a departing aircraft to pass a specific waypoint (waypoint KEVIN) and climb to 10,000 feet prior to turning left. Given that aircraft can achieve this height at different times and locations depending on their individual performance, we became aware that there was a risk that aircraft could turn towards each other or the crossing arrival which may result in a loss of safe separation.

To prevent this occurring, the new SID stipulates a series of fixed points by which all aircraft must track.

This change results in a more predictable, consolidated flight path over water which provides greater separation assurance between crossing departures and arrivals.  

In this instance the concentration of flights on departure provides enhanced separation assurance between the KEVIN SID or Standard Instrument Departure and the MARLN Standard Instrument Arrival. This should keep aircraft slightly further from communities such as La Perouse and Little Bay, but no closer to Kurnell, which may result in an overall noise improvement outcome. After aircraft exit Botany Bay, the rest of departure is entirely over water.

Aircraft will typically fly quite accurately along these published flight paths, although aircraft may fly differently within these corridors for a range of reasons, including aircraft type, speed, weight and or navigation systems. Aircraft may also deviate totally from flight paths for a range of reasons, including weather and operational requirements, at the request or approval of Air Traffic Control.

 For runway one six right, safety issues identified by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (the ATSB) following a loss of separation between consecutive aircraft on the former DEENA SID have now been addressed by a replacement SID named KAMPI.

The former procedure required aircraft to pass a specific waypoint (waypoint DEENA) and climb to 6,000 feet prior to turning right. Given that aircraft can achieve this height at different times and locations depending on their individual performance, there was a risk that aircraft could turn towards each other in a manner that reduces the space between them.

To prevent this occurring, the new KAMPI departure stipulates a fixed point at which all aircraft commence their turn which provides the separation assurance improvement before turning northwest.  

The new design provides strategic separation assurance by ensuring aircraft do not turn inside towards the preceding departure. The initial tracking to DEENA remains the same and aircraft are higher when crossing the coast towards the northwest.   

The new procedure results in a concentration of traffic but at higher altitude as they have more time to climb over water before they cross the coast. This reduces the noise over the ground in some areas, however, may increase the noise in other areas that are slightly west of current operations when looking at an individual flight comparison.  Given the area is currently heavily overflown by many aircraft and the planes are likely to cross the coast at a higher altitude, the cumulative change may be noticeable to some residents and may marginally improve the situation for others.  

For more information, please visit engage.airservicesaustralia.com.  Thanks for watching.