Brisbane Basin Aircraft Noise Information Report Quarter 2 2013 (April to June) Page 1
Version Control Version Number Detail Prepared by Date 1 - Environment Sept 2013 2 Text updates Community Relations + Environment Sept 2013 Airservices Australia. All rights reserved. This report contains a summary of data collected over the specified period and is intended to convey the best information available from the NFPMS at the time. The system databases are to some extent dependent upon external sources and errors may occur. All care is taken in preparation of the report but its complete accuracy can not be guaranteed. Airservices Australia does not accept any legal liability for any losses arising from reliance upon data in this report which may be found to be inaccurate. Page 2
Brisbane Basin - Aircraft Noise Information Report Contents 1 PURPOSE 4 1.1 Brisbane Airport 4 1.2 Archerfield Airport 4 1.3 Aircraft noise monitoring in Brisbane 4 2 FLIGHT PATTERNS 6 2.1 Jet aircraft 6 2.2 Non jet aircraft 9 2.3 Track density plots 10 3 AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS 12 3.1 Brisbane Airport 12 3.2 Archerfield Airport 20 4 NOISE MONITORING 22 5 COMPLAINTS DATA 28 5.1 NCIS Clients by suburb 28 5.2 Issues raised by NCIS clients 33 6 IMPROVING NOISE OUTCOMES 34 6.1 Brisbane Initiatives 34 7 CONTACT US 35 Page 3
1 Purpose This report summarises data for Quarter 2 of 2013 (April to June), primarily from Airservices Noise and Flight Path Monitoring System (NFPMS) and Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS) for the Brisbane basin (including Brisbane Airport and Archerfield Airport) as well as some other sources (such as the Flight Charging System). 1.1 Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is located 14km north east of the central business district. It is bounded by residential areas to the west, south and north (see Figure 1). The majority of operations at Brisbane Airport are international and domestic regular passenger services, mostly medium to large jets. During Quarter 2 of 2013 there were around 55,000 operations at Brisbane Airport. More information about operations at Brisbane Airport is available from the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/. 1.2 Archerfield Airport Archerfield Airport is located 13km south west of the central business district and is surrounded by residential developments (see Figure 1). Corporate and charter services operate from the airport and it is also Queensland s largest centre for flight training 1. More information about operations at Archerfield Airport is available from the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/. 1.3 Aircraft noise monitoring in Brisbane Airservices NFPMS captures and stores radar, flight plan and noise data. The NFPMS covers eight city regions around Australia. For the Brisbane region, noise data is captured by five noise monitors - also known as Environmental Monitoring Units (EMUs) located around Brisbane Airport (see Figure 1). 1 A factsheet about circuit training is available at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/factsheets/ Page 4
Figure 1: Location of Brisbane Airport and Archerfield Airport. (Runway orientation at both airports is shown in the inserts. Noise monitoring sites are shown as red dots). The main runway at Brisbane Airport, 01/19, is 3.5 km long, orientated approximately south to north. This means that on Runway 01, aircraft arrive over suburbs to the south of the airport and take off over water. On Runway 19, aircraft arrive over water and take off over suburbs to the south. There is a smaller 1.7km long cross runway, 14/32, orientated north-west to south-east, which is primarily used by propeller aircraft. At Archerfield Airport there are two sets of parallel runways, 04L/22R - 04R/22L (oriented south west to north east) and 10L/28R 10R/28L (oriented east to west). Both are used for circuit training. Information about runway selection is available on the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/factsheets/. Page 5
2 Flight patterns 2.1 Jet aircraft The following illustrations show jet aircraft track plots for arrivals and departures at Brisbane Airport and Archerfield Airport for one month in Quarter 2 of 2013 (May), coloured according to height (in feet). Noise monitors (EMUs) are shown as grey circles. BRISBANE ARCHERFIELD Figure 2: Jet arrivals for the Brisbane region, May 2013 (one month) Key points: Approaches from the north fly over water. However, the approaches from the south overfly suburbs at altitudes below 5000ft. Although primarily a general aviation airport, a small number of jet movements can be identified at Archerfield Airport. Page 6
The majority of Brisbane suburbs overflown by jet arrivals are done so above 5000ft. Arrivals are generally aligned with runways from around 10km from the airport. Although not visible in the illustration, aircraft holding, when required for arrivals into Brisbane airport, is done 100 km south of the airport (just below the southern edge of the illustration. There are additional holding areas to the north of Brisbane at approximately 50kms and also to the west. In all cases aircraft are held at between 10,000 and 15,000 ft and have no noise impacts on residential areas. BRISBANE ARCHERFIELD Figure 3: Jet departures for the Brisbane region, May 2013 (one month) The key points are: Departing jets are generally over 5000ft for the majority of suburbs overflown. Departures to the north fly over water. However, departures to the south overfly suburbs at altitudes below 5000ft. Page 7
Most suburbs within 20km of the airport are overflown either by arrivals or departures from Brisbane Airport. Page 8
2.2 Non jet aircraft The illustration below shows non jet tracks (arrivals and departures) at Brisbane Airport and Archerfield Airport in one month of Quarter 2 of 2013 (May). Noise monitors (EMUs) are shown as grey circles. CABOOLTURE REDCLIFFE BRISBANE ARCHERFIELD RAAF AMBERLEY Figure 4: Non jet arrivals and departures for the Brisbane region, May 2013 (one month) The key points are: Although jet aircraft tend to operate along defined paths, when smaller aircraft movements are included on the map, there are no areas of Brisbane that are not overflown by aircraft at some time. There are no clear flight patterns for smaller aircraft. Flights below 3000ft tend to be operations to and from Archerfield Airport rather than Brisbane Airport. This is expected, as the majority of these operations are required to stay below controlled air space. Page 9
The circuit pattern (flight training) at Archerfield Airport is visible as the red oval to the south of the map. 2.3 Track density plots The track plots in the previous section show that residents living up to 15km from the airports and in line with Brisbane Airport s runway are regularly overflown by jet aircraft below 5000ft. However, beyond this the regularity of flight path use is not discernible from the track plot display. A track density plot, which includes all aircraft types, can be useful in showing the underlying track patterns. A track density plot is a map which displays the pattern of aircraft flight tracks passing over the region around the airport. The region is divided into a set of small grid elements and the number of flights passing over each grid element is summed. Each grid element is coloured according to the number of overflights. The following illustration shows a track density plot for all movements over the Brisbane Basin for Quarter 2 of 2013. The grid size adopted is 200m x 200m. The colour coding from green to red represents the range 2 flight tracks per day to 20 (182 to 1820 flight tracks for the quarter). If any grid element is not colour coded, the number of aircraft flight tracks passing over that element during the quarter was less than 2 per day on average. Note the absence of a colour for a grid element does not mean the grid element is free of aircraft overflights. The grey circles show the location of each noise monitor (EMU). Page 10
CABOOLTURE REDCLIFFE ARCHERFIELD RAAF AMBERLEY Figure 5: Track density plot for the Brisbane region, Quarter 2 of 2013 The key points shown are: There are distinct flight patterns that are regularly used to and from Archerfield, Brisbane, Redcliffe and Caboolture airports. Lanes into and out of the circuit pattern at Archerfield Airport are visible. Circuit patterns can be identified at both Caboolture Airport and Redcliffe Airport, to the north of the map. These are both small airports operating single engine aircraft, largely for training purposes. However, the majority of traffic to the north of Brisbane is associated with Brisbane Airport. Page 11
3 Aircraft movements 3.1 Brisbane Airport The graph below shows aircraft movements at Brisbane Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 6: Aircraft movements at Brisbane Airport to Quarter 2 of 2013 The key points shown are: There are 2-3 times as many jets as propeller aircraft. There are very few helicopters operating out of Brisbane Airport. Over the last 15 months the number of jets and propeller aircraft has remained approximately constant (12000-13000 for jets and 4500-5500 for propellers). 3.1.1 Runway Usage The following charts show aspects of runway usage for arrivals and departures at Brisbane Airport for the 15 month period up to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013 and usage over a four year period for the two busiest runways at the airport. The most significant feature is the growth in traffic partly as a result of fly-in fly-out mining traffic but also as a result of competition among airlines adding capacity. Runway selection is based on weather conditions, traffic volume and noise abatement procedures. Page 12
Aircraft primarily take off and land into the wind for safety and performance reasons. Therefore, as the wind direction changes, the runway in operation may also change depending on the strength of the wind. Figure 7: Runway usage (All) at Brisbane Airport to Quarter 2 of 2013 Figure 8: Runway usage (Arrivals) at Brisbane Airport to Quarter 2 of 2013 Page 13
Figure 9: Runway usage (Departures) at Brisbane Airport to Quarter 2 of 2013 Figure 10: Runway 01 usage at Brisbane Airport 2010 to 2013 Page 14
Figure 11: Runway 19 usage at Brisbane Airport 2010 to 2013 The key points are: Brisbane Airport has experienced significant growth over the past 12 months. A surge in domestic flights has seen an additional 270 scheduled flights added to the weekly schedule partly due to demand and partly due to competition among the domestic carriers adding capacity. The result has seen an increase of 1.65 million seats per year. Two new international carriers, Hawaiian Airlines and Philippine Airlines, have begun services to Brisbane while others have added flights an additional 11 return services to Brisbane every week. Larger aircraft (more Airbus A330s) have also been added to fleets and Emirates Airlines is scheduled to begin Airbus A380 operations later in the year. Fly-in/Fly-out (FIFO) flights for the Resources industry has resulted in a significant increase in intrastate flights. Seasonal variations in wind direction account for differences in runway use. In winter, prevailing winds at Brisbane Airport are from the south, which results in Runway 19 being used more frequently. Consequently, residential areas to the south of the airport are overflown more by departing aircraft. Arriving aircraft, however, approach over water. Generally, from November to February, prevailing winds at Brisbane Airport are from the north. Therefore Runway 01, which is oriented to the north, is used more during these months. As a result, residential areas to the south of the airport are overflown more by arriving aircraft while departing aircraft fly over Moreton Bay. Unusually poor summer weather (rain and a low cloud base) contributed to a greater use of the Runway 01 Instrument Landing System ILS) in the first quarter. Page 15
The increase in traffic also resulted in greater use of the ILS for traffic management and safety reasons which continued into Quarter 2. This was a recommendation from the Airport Capacity Enhancement initiative which included input from the airlines, Brisbane Airport and Airservices. Use of the ILS will continue to be a factor in safely managing the growth in traffic at Brisbane for some time to come. Movements on the smaller cross Runway 14-32 accounted for less than 5% of total movements at Brisbane Airport during the 15 month period. For some of this time the runway was out of use due to construction works related to the New Parallel Runway (NPR) project. Generally jet aircraft do not use Runway 14-32 because of weight restrictions. Page 16
3.1.2 Night Movements The graph below shows aircraft movements at Brisbane Airport at night (11.00pm to 06.00am), by aircraft type. The two following graphs show the runways used for night time movements. There is no curfew at Brisbane Airport. However, noise abatement procedures are used to reduce the impact of aircraft operations on residential areas, especially at night. From 10.00pm to 6.00am, when wind and traffic conditions permit, aircraft arrive and depart over Moreton Bay (ie. arrive on Runway 19 and depart from Runway 01). When conditions are not suitable for the application of noise abatement procedures (eg. when there is a northerly wind on Runway 01), aircraft will depart over Moreton Bay and land over the southern suburbs. The opposite applies in the case of a southerly wind. Figure 12: Night movements (11.00pm to 6.00am) at Brisbane Airport April 2012 to June 2013 by aircraft type The key points are: Night time movements at Brisbane Airport are seasonal, with more night movements in summer and fewer during the non-daylight saving period (April to September). Due to the scheduling of flights between nondaylight savings time zones (including Brisbane) and daylight savings time zones (such as Sydney and Melbourne), there is an increase in the number of flights arriving and departing Brisbane Airport before 6.00am between October and March. Propeller aircraft schedules are not affected by daylight saving time to the same extent and do not reflect the same trend of fewer movements during the no-daylight saving period (April to September). In general, twice as many jets as propeller aircraft operate at night. Page 17
Figure 13: Runway usage for night (11.00pm to 06.00am) arrivals at Brisbane Airport April 2012 to June 2013 Figure 14: Runway usage for night (11.00pm to 06.00am) departures at Brisbane Airport April 2012 to June 2013 Page 18
As shown in the graphs above the majority of night movements (11:00pm to 6:00am) used the Noise Abatement Procedure (NAP) for departures and arrivals over water (ie. Reciprocal Runway Operations, with departures from Runway 01 and arrivals to Runway 19). However, the level of Runway 01 departures in February and March was much lower than in previous months and the level of Runway 19 arrivals was higher. This was due to strong winds from the south during these months. Reciprocal Runway Operations, which are only permitted if winds are below 10 knots downwind, were not possible for long periods. 3.1.3 Review of Noise Abatement Procedures (NAP) Airservices undertook a review of the Noise Abatement Procedures (NAP) at Brisbane Airport over a 12-month period in 2011-2012. The NAP Review is a technical review that considers compliance with procedures and the effectiveness of those procedures. Its purpose is to review ways to minimise the impact of aircraft noise on residential areas around Brisbane Airport, especially at night, and to explore options to concentrate aircraft noise away from residential areas. The review found that compliance with the NAP procedures was high around 95 per cent in most cases. An area of low compliance, relating to daytime processing of turboprop arrivals, has been addressed with an update to the pilot instructions to ensure the published NAPs can be used. Other recommendations implemented include a proposal to begin Reciprocal Runway Operations at weekends as early as possible when traffic and meteorological conditions allow, and to better inform the community through the CACG as to how decisions on runway use are made to ensure the preferred runways remain available to maintain the very high compliance rate. This is particularly the case with night-time over the Bay operations when both arriving and departing aircraft come and go over Moreton Bay instead of residential areas - weather permitting. There were a number of recommendations from the review which were not considered feasible due to safety management reasons but Airservices is committed to exploring suggestions put forward by communities under its recently introduced Strategic Noise Improvement Program. This program allows for early identification of the feasibility of proposals prior to full safety and environmental assessments. 3.1.4 Review of Brisbane Region Environmental Monitoring Units A review of the Brisbane region s Environmental Monitoring Units (EMUs) was also carried out over a 12-month period from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012. More commonly known as noise monitors, these units are part of the Noise and Flight Path Monitoring System in use at Australia s major airports. The purpose of the review was to assess the performance of the EMUs in the Brisbane area against Airservices environmental and business requirements for the Page 19
management of aircraft noise in the vicinity of airports. A report is available on the Airservices website. 3.1.5 Short Term Monitoring Program Airservices also has a rolling program of short term monitoring intended to collect data for specific operational purposes and to investigate potential new sites for permanent EMUs. Short term monitoring was carried out at sites at Salisbury, Sandgate, Pinkenba, Paddington and Tarragindi during Quarter 2 and reports will be available on the Airservices website once completed. 3.2 Archerfield Airport The graph below shows aircraft movements at Archerfield Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013. The data point for June 2013 is temporarily removed due to uncompleted data entry process at the report preparation time. Figure 15: Aircraft movements at Archerfield Airport April 2012 to June 2013 The key points are: There has been a decline in movements over the last year, including circuit training. This trend is common to many general aviation airports across Australia, and is at least partly due to current economic conditions. Ab initio students (trainee pilots with no previous experience) tend to begin their courses at the start of the year. This produces a spike in circuits in the first few months of the year, as students are required to undertake a minimum of ten hours of circuit flying. The low level of movements in March 2013 was also partly due to poor weather conditions. Archerfield Airport is generally used by pilots with less experience, who therefore avoid flying in poor weather when visibility is poor. In addition, periods of wet weather make the grass runways unserviceable confining all operations to the main sealed runways. Page 20
The airport has also been attracting larger turboprop aircraft engaged in FIFO operations to mining sites in recent times. Page 21
4 Noise monitoring Airservices collects noise and operational data from noise monitors (EMUs) around Brisbane Airport. This data can be expressed in a number of ways, to show average noise during a period, background noise levels and number of noise events over a certain threshold. Sound is measured on a logarithmic scale with the decibel (db(a)) as the unit of measure. The sound level of typical daytime urban-based activities can vary between 40dB(A) and 80dB(A). The sound levels in a nightclub often exceed 90dB(A). The following graphs show data from the five Brisbane EMUs for the last fifteen months (see Figure 1 at the beginning of this report for the location of EMUs). The terms used within each of these graphs are: LAeq 24hr: The continuous equivalent noise level over a 24 hour period, including noise from aircraft and the wider environment. LAeq night: The continuous equivalent noise level over the night time period (hours of 11:00pm to 6:00am) Background L 90 db(a) (L90): The sound level that is exceeded 90% of the time over a 24 hour period effectively removing noise from instantaneous events such as passing aircraft to provide a background level. N65: The average number of daily noise events caused by aircraft that are over 65dB(A). Figures for N70, N80 and N90 are also provided. Page 22
Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Q2_2013 Average Noise Levels in db(a) Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Q2_2013 Number of Noise Events EMU 2 100.0 90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 N65 N70 N80 N90 Figure 16: Average daily noise events at EMU 2 (Tingalpa) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Runway 01 and departures from Runway 19) EMU 2 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 0.0 Figure 17: Average noise levels at EMU 2 from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 The key points are: Along with EMU 55 (Cannon Hill), EMU 2 records the highest number of aircraft noise events. This is because these noise monitors are close to the flight paths for both Runway 01 arrivals and Runway 19 departures (aircraft arriving from and departing to the south). EMU 2 is directly overflown by departures off runway 19 and heading south (to airports in eastern states). The number of aircraft noise events recorded is proportional to the number of 19 departures. The pattern for aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 2 reflects the seasonal use of Runway 19 for departures. Night time noise levels at EMU 2 are close to background levels. This is because noise abatement procedures minimise Runway 01 arrivals and Runway 19 departures during the night. Page 23
Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Q2_2013 Average Noise Levels in db(a) Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Q2_2013 Number of Noise Events EMU 3 14.0 12.0 10.0 8.0 6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 N65 N70 N80 N90 Figure 18: Average daily noise events at EMU 3 (Nudgee Beach) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures movements on Runway 14/32 and some departures from Runway 01) EMU 3 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 10.0 0.0 Figure 19: Average noise levels at EMU 3 to Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 The key points shown are: Less than 5% of all movements use Runway 14-32. As a result EMU 3 (Nudgee Beach) records the lowest number of aircraft noise events of all the noise monitors. Some non-jet aircraft heading north after taking off from Runway 01 will overfly EMU 3. The lower values for N70 and N65 result from fewer Runway 01 departures during Quarter 1 of 2013. Page 24
Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Q2_2013 Average Noise Levels in db(a) Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Q2_2013 Number of Noise Events EMU 24 35.0 30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 N65 N70 N80 N90 Figure 20: Average daily noise events at EMU 24 (Bulimba) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Runway 01) EMU 24 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 0.0 Figure 21: Average noise levels at EMU 24 from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 The key points are: The noise events recorded by EMU 24 reflect the seasonal use of Runway 01 for arrivals. Generally, average night time noise levels at EMU 24 are close to background levels. This is because noise abatement procedures minimise Runway 01 arrivals during the night. Daily average night time noise levels recorded at EMU 24 in Quarter 1 of 2013 were elevated by noisy events celebrating the New Year taking place near to the monitor. The average quarterly noise level returned to the expected level in Q2 2013. Page 25
Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Q2_2013 Average Noise Levels in db(a) Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Q2_2013 Number of Noise Events EMU 54 30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 N65 N70 N80 N90 Figure 22: Average daily noise events at EMU 54 (Kedron) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Runway 01) EMU 54 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 10.0 0.0 Figure 23: Average noise levels at EMU 54 to Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 The key points shown are: EMU 54 records a relatively low number of noise events, due to not being aligned with the runways at Brisbane Airport. The noise events recorded by EMU 24 reflect the seasonal use of Runway 01 for arrivals. The drop in the use of runway 01 for arrivals during Q1 and Q2 2013 resulted in the reduction of N70 and N65 recordings for this period. Page 26
Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Q2_2013 Average Noise Levels in db(a) Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Q2_2013 Number of Noise Events EMU 55 160.0 140.0 120.0 100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0.0 N65 N70 N80 N90 Figure 24: Average daily noise events at EMU 55 (Cannon Hill) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Runway 01 and departures from Runway 19) EMU 55 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 10.0 0.0 Figure 25: Average noise levels at EMU 55 from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 The key points shown are: Along with EMU 2 (Tingalpa), EMU 55 records the highest number of aircraft noise events. This is because these noise monitors are close to the flight paths for Runway 19 departures. Noise events from EMU 55 reflect the seasonal use of Runway 19. The increase in the N70 and N65 for Q1 2013 corresponds to an increase 19 departures for the same quarter. Page 27
5 Complaints data Airservices manages complaints and enquiries about aircraft noise and operations through its Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS). Complaints, enquiries and requests for information about aircraft operations received by the NCIS are collected and stored in a database for the purpose of complaint management, analysis of issues and identification of causal factors. Each complaint, enquiry or request for information is referred to as a contact and each person who makes contact with the NCIS is referred to as a client. 5.1 NCIS Clients by suburb The NCIS received contacts from 134 clients regarding Brisbane Airport and Archerfield Airport during Quarter 2 of 2013. Client density maps are used to show the number of clients from each suburb, with suburbs coloured according to how many clients had contacted the NCIS. The data does not include clients who contacted other organisations (eg. airports). Table 1 provides a breakdown of clients from Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 26 shows client density with flight tracks overlaid for Brisbane Airport and Archerfield Airports for Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 27 focuses on the client density for Archerfield Airport (for all of Quarter 2 of 2013), showing circuit training tracks (the main issue of complainants) for a representative week. Page 28
Suburb Table 1: Recorded Clients Quarter 2 of 2013 Brisbane Airport Clients Archerfield Airport Clients Acacia Ridge 2 2 Total Alderley 1 1 Annerley 1 1 Ascot 1 1 Ashgrove 1 1 Ashgrove West 1 1 Auchenflower 1 1 Bardon 1 1 Beenleigh 1 1 Belmont 4 4 Birkdale 2 2 Bracken Ridge 1 1 Brisbane Airport 1 1 Buccan 1 1 Buderim 1 1 Calamvale 1 1 Camp Hill 1 1 Cannon Hill 4 4 Carina Heights 3 3 Chambers Flat 1 1 Clayfield 2 2 Coorparoo 6 6 Corinda 1 1 East Brisbane 1 1 Eatons Hill 1 1 Eight Mile Plains 1 1 Everton Hills 1 1 Ferny Grove 1 1 Ferny Hills 2 2 Fig Tree Pocket 1 1 Fingal Head 1 1 Gumdale 4 4 Hawthorne 2 2 Highgate Hill 1 1 Kangaroo Point 1 1 Kenmore 1 1 Kuraby 1 1 Lamb Island 1 1 Logan Village 1 1 Lutwyche 1 1 Manly West 1 1 Page 29
Mitchelton 1 1 Moorooka 1 1 Morningside 10 10 Mount Gravatt 1 1 Murarrie 2 2 Norman Park 3 3 Northgate 3 3 Nundah 1 1 Oxley 1 5 6 Pinkenba 3 3 Pullenvale 1 1 Redcliffe 1 1 Richlands 1 1 Richmond 1 1 Rocklea 1 1 Salisbury 2 2 Sandgate 1 1 Scarborough 2 2 Seven Hills 5 5 St Lucia 2 2 Tarragindi 1 1 The Gap 1 1 Tingalpa 5 5 Toowong 1 1 2 Underwood 1 1 Wakerley 2 2 Waterford 1 1 Wavell Heights 1 1 West End 1 1 Williamstown North 1 1 Wooloowin 1 1 Wynnum 2 2 Zillmere 1 1 Not specified 3 1 4 Total 118 16 134 Table 1 shows: Three suburbs had clients for both Brisbane Airport and Archerfield Airport. Contacts regarding Brisbane Airport relate to jet aircraft while those for Archerfield relate to circuit training. The suburbs with the most clients for Brisbane Airport are Morningside, Coorparoo, Seven Hills and Tingalpa all impacted by arrivals and departures from the main 01/19 runways. Nine suburbs had one client each lodging contacts for Archerfield Airport, mostly related to circuit training. Page 30
Arrivals Departures Local operations including circuits Figure 26: Client density by suburb with an overlay of tracks for one week from 2 to 8 June 2013 for the Brisbane region The suburbs in Brisbane with the highest number of NCIS clients are those to the south west of Brisbane Airport, which are overflown by departures from Runway 19 and arrivals to arrivals to Runway 01 (Morningside, Seven Hills, Camp Hill, Coorparoo). Page 31
Arrivals Departures Local operations including circuits Figure 27: Client density by suburb with an overlay of tracks for one week from 2 to 8 June 2013 at Archerfield (through YBAF CTR) The key points shown are: Complaints from suburbs immediately surrounding Archerfield Airport tend to be about circuit training operations. Complaints received from suburbs to the north west of the airport are underneath the arrival flight path in the 28 direction. Page 32
Apr-12 May-12 Jun-12 Jul-12 Aug-12 Sep-12 Oct-12 Nov-12 Dec-12 Jan-13 Feb-13 Mar-13 Apr-13 May-13 Jun-13 Number of clients raising issue 5.2 Issues raised by NCIS clients The graph below shows the top five issues raised by NCIS clients regarding Brisbane Airport for the 15 month period to June 2013. A single contact can involve multiple issues (ie. a client may have raised more than one issue when they contacted the NCIS). During the 15 month period the top five issues raised were: Jet Aircraft, Runway 01 Arrivals, Increased Frequency of Air Traffic, Runway 19 Departures and Aircraft Height. 80 15 Month Trend - Top 5 Issues 70 60 Runway 01 Arrivals Increased Frequency of Air Traffic Jet Aircraft 50 40 30 20 10 0 BRISBANE AIRPORT JET AIRCRAFT BRISBANE AIRPORT RUNWAY 01 ARR BRISBANE AIRPORT RUNWAY 19 DEP BRISBANE AIRPORT INCREASED FREQUENCY OF AIR TRAFFIC BRISBANE AIRPORT AIRCRAFT HEIGHT Figure 28: Top five issues for Brisbane Airport for the 15 month period, April 2012 to June 2013 The key points are: The number of clients raising the main issues at Brisbane Airport generally reflects the use of Runway 01 for arrivals. This is because Runway 01 arrivals are aligned with the runway at an earlier point on the Instrument Landing System (ILS), therefore flying over more suburbs. The increase in traffic on the Runway 01 ILS for traffic management purposes (ie: the need to provide a safe, orderly flow of arrivals at a constant speed) has resulted in a corresponding increase in contacts from clients living under the ILS flight path. This is a safety issue related to congestion at the airport with the number of flights arriving and departing at peak periods. Whenever possible aircraft are held on the ground at their departure points to smooth out the peaks and troughs and reduce the need for airborne holding. Archerfield Issues with Archerfield tend to be focussed on circuit training. While controllers attempt to alternate the circuits to provide some relief for nearby residents this is not always possible due to wind conditions and wet weather periods which preclude the use of the grass runways. Some clients have concerns about departures at Archerfield and Airservices will be carrying out an initial investigation under its Strategic Noise Improvement Program to establish if it is feasible to align the departure track over the Ipswich motorway rather than residential areas. Page 33
6 Improving Noise Outcomes A key Airservices objective in being actively involved in CACGs is seeking to improve noise outcomes. This means looking for, finding, and where feasible, implementing change. Airservices wants active consideration of, and consultation on, proposals or ideas and seeking input from the CACG is a very important part of this process. A noise-initiated change process has been drafted to guide this objective and Airservices sought input and support from the Department of Infrastructure and Transport and the Aircraft Noise Ombudsman. This is a process for change driven by improving noise outcomes and allows for early identification of feasibility. If a proposal is considered as likely to result in an improved noise outcome, it will then enter the complete change process for implementation. The Airservices noise initiated change process: 1. Identified change opportunity solely for improved noise outcome (CACG/community, Airservices, Airports, Industry, issues/complaints analysis) 2. Airservices will undertake an initial high level assessment that includes potential noise impacts. This will be provided to the CACG for feedback before progressing further 3. Air Traffic Control feasibility assessment and options (includes safety and efficiency) 4. Industry consultation as required 5. Updates to CACG on status of the suggestion including proposed/likely timelines and next steps if it is deemed feasible to explore further 6. Change process including environmental assessment 7. Airservices to keep CACG informed of the progress While there is a focus on exploring noise improvement opportunities, Airservices advises that making or implementing change is difficult. However, Airservices will continue to look for opportunities and further engage in considering those opportunities. The CACG is central to improving noise outcomes. 6.1 Brisbane Initiatives There are a number of initiatives under consideration for Brisbane under Airservices Strategic Noise Improvement Program. Airservices is investigating a proposal put forward through the CACG by the Pinkenba representative so that departures avoid flying over the heart of the community at low altitude. The Laravale Standard Instrument Departure (SID) impacts the community and the investigation will determine if it is feasible to relocate the MEAND waypoint to avoid this. A preliminary assessment has shown that the change would not impact residents of other suburbs and Brisbane Air Traffic Control has indicated there would be minimal operational impact. The proposal is being progressed. Page 34
A proposal for late night/early morning international departures off Runway 19 to turn left over Moreton Bay instead of right over the city and suburbs is also under investigation. This departure is usually associated with wet weather and a low cloud base which tends to amplify the noise back to the ground. The impact on suburbs currently not over-flown is yet to be determined. Residents living under the Instrument Landing System flight path for arrivals to Runway 01 have asked their community representative to raise the issue of increased traffic using the ILS. This is a safety requirement due to the increase in traffic arriving and departing Brisbane at peak periods and there is no immediate solution available. Whenever traffic and weather conditions permit air traffic control will avoid using the ILS to give some relief to those living under the ILS flight path. 7 Contact us To lodge a complaint or make an enquiry about aircraft operations, you can: go to WebTrak (www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/webtrak/) use our online form (www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/aboutmaking-a-complaint/) telephone 1800 802 584 (freecall) or 1300 302 240 (local call Sydney) fax (02) 9556 6641 write to, Noise Complaints and Information Service, PO Box 211, Mascot NSW 1460. Airservices welcomes comments about this report. Please contact us via e-mail at community.relations@airservicesaustralia.com if you would like to provide feedback. Page 35