Melbourne Basin Aircraft Noise Information Report Quarter 3 2012 (July to September) 1
Version Control Version Number Detail Prepared by Date 1 - Environment 5 December 2012 2 Figure 10 amended Environment 19 June 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. 2
Melbourne Basin - Aircraft Noise Information Report Contents 1. Purpose Page 4 2. Flight patterns Page 8 2.1 Jet aircraft Page 8 2.2 Non jet aircraft Page 10 2.3 Track density plots Page 11 3. Aircraft movements Page 14 3.1 Melbourne Airport Page 14 3.2 Essendon Airport Page 18 3.3 Moorabbin Airport Page 21 3.4 Avalon Airport Page 22 4. Noise monitoring Page 23 5. Complaints data Page 31 5.1 NCIS Clients by suburb Page 31 5.2 Issues raised by NCIS clients Page 37 3
1. Purpose This report summarises data for Quarter 3 of 2012 (July to September) from Airservices Noise and Flight Path Monitoring System (NFPMS) and Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS) for the Melbourne basin (including Melbourne, Essendon, Moorabbin and Avalon airports) as well as some other sources (such as the Airservices Flight Charging System). 1.1 Melbourne Airport Melbourne Airport is located around 20km north east of the central business district. It is bounded by residential areas to the east, south and west. To the north of the airport is the township of Bulla. The majority of operations at Melbourne Airport are international and domestic regular passenger services, mostly medium to large jets. During Quarter 3 of 2012 there were over 55,000 operations at Melbourne Airport. More information about Melbourne Airport is available from the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/. 1.2 Essendon Airport Essendon Airport is located between the city centre and Melbourne Airport, approximately 11km north west of the central business district. It is surrounded by residential developments. The majority of operations involve smaller general aviation which includes corporate jets and emergency helicopters. Circuit training is not conducted at Essendon Airport. A legislated curfew at Essendon Airport limits operations between 11.00pm and 6.00am. During Quarter 3 of 2012 there were over 11,000 operations at Essendon Airport. More information about Essendon Airport is available from the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/. 1.3 Moorabbin Airport Moorabbin Airport is located a little over 20km south east of the central business district. It is bounded by residential areas on all sides. The majority of operations at Moorabbin Airport are smaller general aviation aircraft. Pilot training is conducted at Moorabbin Airport which involves a significant number of circuit operations. Information about circuit training is available on the Airservices website at http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/wpcontent/uploads/12-039fac_ncis-circuit-training_web.pdf and more information about Moorabbin Airport is available from the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/. 1.4 Avalon Airport Avalon Airport is located 50 km south-west of the central business district. It is on the eastern edge of the city of Geelong. Residential areas are to the west of the Airport. To the south is Geelong Harbour. The majority of operations are Regular Passenger Transport (RPT) involving a mixture of narrow body and wide body jet aircraft. 1.5 Aircraft noise monitoring in Melbourne Airservices NFPMS captures and stores radar, flight plan and noise data. The NFPMS covers eight city regions around Australia. For the Melbourne region, noise data is captured by five noise monitors - also known as Environmental Monitoring Units (EMUs) - located around Melbourne Airport at: Buller, Keilor East, Essendon, Coolaroo, Thomastown, Keilor Village and Diggers Rest. 4
Figure 1 Location of Melbourne, Essendon, Avalon and Moorabbin airports. (Noise monitoring sites are shown as red dots). The location of RAAF Point Cook airfield is also shown. Melbourne Airport Essendon Airport RAAF Point Cook Moorabbin Airport Avalon Airport 5
Essendon Airport Melbourne Airport Moorabbin Airport Avalon Airport RAAF Point Cook Figure 1 shows runway configurations at Melbourne, Essendon, Moorabbin and Avalon airports. The main runway at Melbourne Airport, 16/34 is 3.7 km long, orientated northsouth. There is a smaller 2.3 km long cross runway, 09/27, orientated east-west. At Essendon Airport there are two intersecting runways, a 1.6 km north-south runway 17/35 and a 1.9 km east-west runway 08/26. 6
Moorabbin Airport has 2 parallel runways aligned north-south (35L-17R and 35R-17L) and another set of 2 parallel runways orientated north-east to south-west (31L-13R and 31R- 13L). These are of a similar length, 0.8-0.9 km. There is a fifth runway which is shorter (0.5km), aligned south east to north west (04-22). Avalon Airport has a single runway of length 3.0 km aligned north-south (18-36). Information about runway selection is available on the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/factsheets/. 7
2. Flight patterns 2.1 Jet aircraft Figures 2 and 3 show jet aircraft track plots for arrivals and departures for the Melbourne basin for the month of August 2012, coloured according to height (in feet). Noise monitors are shown as grey circles. Stars indicate the location of private airfields. The period shown has been limited to one month so that the patterns of aircraft movements can be distinguished Figure 2 Jet arrivals for the Melbourne basin, August 2012 (one month) 64 2 6 61 60 3 4 Essendon Airport Key points shown by Figure 2 are: The vast the majority of jet traffic (almost 97%) occurs at Melbourne Airport. These are mostly RPT operations involving medium to large jets. A small number of wide and large body jets also operate out of Avalon Airport (1.8% of the total number of jets) A small number of business and corporate jets operate out of Essendon Airport (1.6%) and Moorabbin Airport (0.04%) 8
Jet arrivals are generally aligned with the runways at least 10km from the airport. For Melbourne Airport, suburbs in line with the runways up to about 15km are overflown by jet arrivals. However for Avalon Airport the majority of jet arrivals occur either over rural areas or the bay. Arrivals into Melbourne Airport are mainly from the east (35.9%) and the south (34.2%). Approaches from the north account for 30% of all jet arrivals. Figure 3 Jet departures for the Melbourne basin, August 2012 (one month) 64 2 6 61 60 3 4 Essendon Airport Key points shown by Figure 3 are: Jet departures reach a higher altitude closer to the airport than arrivals and also deviate from runway alignment slightly closer to the airport, around 10km from runway end. However, jets taking off need to maintain high levels of power (thrust) to maintain their climb, which is why noise from departing jets is often louder than noise from arriving jets, even though they overfly nearby suburbs at a greater height. Jet departures at Melbourne Airport are mainly to the north (44.3%) and west (51.2%). 9
In Figure 3 the jet departures heading to the south from Melbourne Airport originated from the cross runway in the 27 direction. Jet departures at Avalon Airport are mainly to the south and to the north-east. These are the least populated areas around the airport. 2.2 Non jet aircraft Figure 4 shows non jet tracks (arrivals and departures) in the Melbourne basin for the month of August 2012. Noise monitors are shown as grey circles. The period shown has been limited to one month so that the patterns of aircraft movements can be distinguished Figure 4 Non jet arrivals and departures for the Melbourne region, August 2012 (one month) Melbourne Airport 64 2 6 61 Lilydale Airport 60 3 4 Essendon Airport RAAF Point Cook Moorabbin Airport Avalon Airport Key points shown by Figure 4 are: It is clear that although jet aircraft tend to operate along defined paths, when smaller aircraft are included on the map, there are very few areas of the Melbourne basin that are not overflown by aircraft at some stage. The circuit pattern (training aircraft) at Moorabbin Airport and Point Cook are visible as red/ orange rings, 10
indicating that aircraft are generally maintaining a height of around 1000ft (in line with Civil Aviation Safety Authority height requirements for circuit operations). In Figure 4 the circuit operations at Lilydale Airport are visible, indicating that aircraft are generally maintaining a height of around 1000ft (in line with Civil Aviation Safety Authority height requirements for circuit operations). Although it is not evident in Figure 4 (too many tracks) propeller aircraft operating out of Melbourne Airport follow the same pattern as that for jets; the majority of arrivals are from the east and south, departures are to the west and north. Propeller aircraft out of Melbourne Airport generally operate at a higher altitude (above 5000 ft) than those for other airports. 11
2.3 Track density plots The track plots above show that residents living up to 15km from the airports and in line with Melbourne Airport s runways 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 can be useful in showing the underlying track patterns. To create a track density plot, the land surface is divided into squares, creating a grid. The average number of flights passing over each square per day is then calculated. By colour coding according to frequency of flights, a track density plot can be illustrated. Figure 5 shows a track density plot for all movements over the Melbourne basin in Quarter 3 of 2012. Noise monitors are shown as grey circles. 12
Figure 5 Track density plot for the Melbourne region, Quarter 3 of 2012 64 2 6 61 Lilydale Airport Melbourne Airport 60 3 4 Essendon Airport RAAF Point Cook Airport Moorabbin Airport Avalon Airport Key points shown by Figure 5 are: Flights in and out of Melbourne Airport are generally aligned with the runways. Suburbs to the south, east and west of the airport are regularly overflown by aircraft. The location of noise monitors aligns well with operations out of Melbourne Airport. Operations out of Essendon are concentrated to the south-east of the airport, which includes the CBD. These aircraft are mostly smaller general aviation aircraft. There are no circuit operations at Essendon Airport. Operations out of Moorabbin Airport are either training or en route to the northern and eastern edges of the bay. There are five distinct flight paths into and out of Moorabbin Airport. The remote training area for Moorabbin Airport based aircraft is also visible approximately 10km south of the airport. Operations at Point Cook are mainly training operations conducting circuit operations. Circuit operations are also clearly visible at Lilydale Airport, to the top right of the map. Operations at this airport involve smaller general aviation aircraft. 13
3. Aircraft movements 3.1 Melbourne Airport Figure 6 shows aircraft movements at Melbourne Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 3 of 2012. Figure 6 Aircraft movements at Melbourne Airport from July 2011 to September 2012 Key points shown by Figure 6 are: There has been a steady increase in jet movements over the last 15 months. Propeller aircraft usage has remained constant. Helicopter movements are less than 0.1% of the overall movement numbers. 14
Figure 7 shows runway usage for arrivals and departures at Melbourne Airport for the 15 month period up to the end of Quarter 3 of 2012. Figures 8 and 9 show runway usage over a four year period for the two busiest runways at the airport. Runway selection is based on weather conditions, traffic volume and noise abatement procedures. As the wind changes, the runway in use may change as aircraft primarily take off and land into the wind for safety and performance reasons. Figure 7 Runway usage at Melbourne Airport from July 2011 to September 2012 Figure 8 Runway 16 usage at Melbourne Airport 2009 to 2012 15
Figure 9 Runway 27 usage at Melbourne Airport 2009 to 2012 Key points shown by figures 7 to 9 are: Use of Runway 16 is heaviest during the November to March period. Use of Runway 34 is greater during the July to October period. This reflects prevailing winds at Melbourne Airport, which are from the south in the summer and from the north during winter and spring. Runway works on the cross runway (09-27) were conducted between January to March 2011. This explains the dip in the 2011 line for those months. There has been a slight increase in the use of Runway 27 in Quarter 3 of 2012. Figure 10 (below) shows aircraft movements at Melbourne Airport at night (11.00pm to 6.00am), by runway. There is no curfew at Melbourne Airport, though noise abatement procedures are used to reduce the impact of aircraft operations on residential areas, especially at night. From 11.00pm to 6.00am, when wind and traffic conditions permit, aircraft depart off Runway 27 and arrive on Runway 16. 16
Figure 10 Night movements Melbourne Airport (11.00pm to 6.00am) by Runway July 2011 to September 2012 The key point shown by Figure 10 is: The preferred night-time runway combination (arrivals onto runway 16 and departures off runway 27) was mostly used during November 2011 to March 2012. 17
3.2 Essendon Airport Figure 12 shows aircraft movements at Essendon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 3 of 2012. Figure 12 Aircraft movements to Essendon Airport to Quarter 3 of 2012 Key points shown by Figure 12 Although the majority of operations at Essendon Airport are general aviation aircraft there are no circuits conducted at the Airport. Movement numbers at Essendon Airport are relatively constant between 4,000 and 5,000 per month Essendon Airport has a curfew, which restricts operations between 11.00pm and 6.00am to provide noise relief to residents near the airport. The details of restrictions at Essendon Airport can be found in the Air Navigation (Essendon Airport) Regulations 2001. This does not mean that all operations at the airport cease during these hours. In line with the Regulations, the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport determines which types of movements are permitted. Figure 10 shows curfew movements by category at Essendon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 3 of 2012. Figure 13 shows the runways used during the curfew movements at Essendon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 3 of 2012. Exceptions to curfew restrictions set out in the Regulations include: Propeller aircraft that are less than 8618 kg (shown as approved in Figure 13) 18
Other aircraft less than 8618 kg which comply with noise standards known as the 90/95 rule (approved) Helicopters that meet ICAO Annex 16 Volume 1 Chapter 8 or 11 noise standards (approved) Aircraft involved in emergencies Aircraft which have taxi clearance prior to the start of the curfew but are yet to take off. More detail on curfew restrictions is available on the website of the Department for Infrastructure and Transport at http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/aviation/environmental/curfews/essendonairport/index.as px Figure 13 Essendon Curfew movements (11.00pm to 6.00am) for July 2011 to September 2012 by curfew category Key points shown by Figure 13 are: On average, there are around four movements per night during curfew hours. While movements of approved aircraft types make up the majority of these movements, a significant proportion of movements are involved in emergency operations (eg. police or air ambulance). 19
Figure 14 Runway usage for curfew movements (11.00pm to 06.00am) at Essendon Airport July 2011 to September 2012 Key points shown by Figure 14 are: Police and emergency services use primarily helicopters. These are based towards the northern end of the main runway. During the curfew the cross runway (08-26) is used as much as the main runway (17-35) 20
3.2 Moorabbin Airport Figure 15 shows aircraft movements at Moorabbin Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 3 of 2012. Figure 15 Aircraft movements to Moorabbin Airport to Quarter 3 of 2012 The key points shown by Figure 15 are: Circuit operations constitute 30 per cent of all operations at Moorabbin Airport. There was a slight spike in movements in March. This was because tertiary students start their courses in February, and start actually flying in March. There was a slight dip in movements in December 2011/ January 2012, due to courses being over for the year. There was another slight dip in June 2012, due to poor weather. 21
3.2 Avalon Airport Figure 16 shows aircraft movements at Avalon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 3 of 2012. Figure 16 Aircraft movements to Avalon Airport to Quarter 3 of 2012 The key point shown by Figure 16 Some circuit operations are conducted at Avalon Airport. The movement numbers at Avalon are approximately 450 movements per month (which is 10 per cent of the number operating at Essendon Airport). The small spike in circuit numbers in June 2012 was due to a jet doing circuits several times a day for three weeks during the month. 22
4. Noise monitoring Airservices collects noise and operational data from noise monitors (EMUs) around Melbourne 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). Figures 13 to 26 show data from the five Adelaide EMUs for the last fifteen months (see Figure 1 for the location of EMUs). The terms used within each of these figures are: TLeq 24hr: The continuous equivalent noise level over a 24 hour period, including noise from aircraft and the wider environment. TLeq 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. 23
Figure 17 Average daily noise events at EMU 2 (Bulla) from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 16 and departures from Melbourne Runway 34) Figure 18 Average noise levels at EMU 2 from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 The key point shown by figures 17 to 18 is: The increase in N65-N80 noise events during Quarter 1 of 2012 was due to the greater use of the main runway during this period. 24
Figure 19 Average daily noise events at EMU 3 (Keilor East) from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 (captures arrivals onto Melbourne Runway 34). Figure 20 Average noise levels at EMU 3 from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 The key point shown by figures 19 to 20 is: The dip in N65-N70 noise events at EMU 3 during Quarter 1 of 2012 was due to the reduced use of Runway 34 for arrivals during this period. 25
Figure 21 Average daily noise events at EMU 4 (Essendon) from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 34 and arrivals to Essendon Runway 35 and departures off Essendon Runway 17) Figure 22 Average noise levels at EMU 4 from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 The key point shown by figures 21 and 22 is: The dip in the N65 and N70 noise events recorded by EMU 3 (Keilor East) during Quarter 1 of 2012 was not recorded at EMU 4 because this monitor also records noise from Runway 17 at Essendon Airport. 26
Figure 23 Average daily noise events at EMU 6 (Coolaroo) from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 27) Figure 24 Average noise levels at EMU 6 from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 The key point shown by Figures 23 and 24 is: The increase in the use of runway 27 for arrivals to Melbourne Airport is reflected by an increase in N65 and N70 noise events during Quarters 2 and 3 of 2012. 27
Figure 25 Average daily noise events at EMU 60 (Keilor Village) from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 34 and departures from Melbourne Runway 16) Figure 26 Average noise levels at EMU 60 from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 The key point shown by figures 25 to 26 is: The increase in N65 and N70 noise events at EMU 60 during Quarter 1 of 2012 was due to increased use of the main runway at Melbourne Airport during this period. 28
Figure 27 Average daily noise events at EMU 61 (Thomastown) from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 27) Figure 28 Average noise levels at EMU 61 from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 The key point shown by figures 27 to 28 is: The increase in the use of runway 27 for arrivals resulted in an increase in N65 and N70 noise events during Quarters 2 and 3 of 2012. 29
Figure 29 Average daily noise events at EMU 64 (Diggers Rest) from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 (departures from Runway 27) Figure 30 Average noise levels at EMU 64 from Quarter 3 of 2011 to Quarter 3 of 2012 The key point shown by figures 29 to 30 is: This monitor is located several kilometres east of the main flight path. The noise captured by this monitor is dependant on weather conditions, which vary throughout the year. 30
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 190 clients from Melbourne, Moorabbin, Essendon and Avalon Airport during Quarter 3 of 2012. 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 July to September 2012. Some suburbs are shown twice, with complaints associated with Melbourne, Moorabbin, Essendon and Avalon Airports shown separately. Figure 31 shows client density for the Melbourne basin with flight tracks overlaid for Melbourne, Moorabbin, Essendon and Avalon Airport for Quarter 3 of 2012. 31
Table 1 Recorded clients July to September 2012 by suburb and airport Suburb Avalon Essendon Melbourne Moorabbin Total ABBOTSFORD 1 1 ABERFELDIE 1 1 2 AIRPORT WEST 1 1 ALBERT PARK 1 1 ALBION 1 1 ASCOT VALE 1 1 ASPENDALE 3 3 ASPENDALE GARDENS 1 1 AVONDALE HEIGHTS 1 1 BEACONSFIELD UPPER 1 1 BENTLEIGH EAST 3 3 BLACK ROCK 1 1 BLACKBURN 1 1 BLACKBURN NORTH 1 1 BRAYBROOK 1 1 BRIGHTON EAST 1 1 BRUNSWICK 2 2 BULLA 3 3 CAMBERWELL 1 1 CAMPBELLFIELD 1 1 CANTERBURY 1 1 CARNEGIE 1 1 CAULFIELD 1 1 2 CHADSTONE 1 1 CHELSEA 1 1 CHELTENHAM 5 5 CLAYTON SOUTH 2 2 CLIFTON HILL 1 1 CLIFTON SPRINGS 1 1 CREMORNE 1 1 2 CURLEWIS 1 1 DIAMOND CREEK 1 1 DINGLEY VILLAGE 16 16 DONCASTER EAST 1 2 3 EAST MELBOURNE 1 1 ELSTERNWICK 1 1 ELTHAM 1 1 ESSENDON 3 3 ESSENDON NORTH 3 2 5 GEMBROOK 1 1 GLENROY 3 3 GREENDALE 1 1 GREENVALE 1 1 HEATHERTON 1 1 IVANHOE 1 1 KANGAROO GROUND 1 1 KEALBA 1 2 3 KEILOR 23 23 KEILOR EAST 1 1 32
KEILOR PARK 1 1 KEW 1 1 LEOPOLD 1 1 LYNDHURST 2 2 MELBOURNE 1 1 MENTONE 2 2 MOONEE PONDS 2 2 MORDIALLOC 4 4 MOUNT ELIZA 1 1 MURRUMBEENA 1 1 NEWPORT 2 2 NIDDRIE 2 2 4 NOBLE PARK 1 1 Not Specified 2 2 4 NOTTING HILL 1 1 OAKLEIGH SOUTH 2 2 PARKDALE 7 7 PASCOE VALE 2 2 PORT MELBOURNE 1 1 PORTARLINGTON 1 1 PRAHRAN 2 1 3 PRESTON 1 1 RICHMOND 1 1 SEAHOLME 1 1 SEDDON 1 1 SOUTH KINGSVILLE 1 1 SPRINGVALE SOUTH 1 1 ST ALBANS 2 2 ST KILDA 2 2 ST KILDA EAST 3 3 STRATHMORE 12 12 STRATHMORE HEIGHTS 1 1 SUNBURY 2 2 SUNSHINE 1 3 4 SUNSHINE NORTH 1 1 THOMASTOWN 3 3 TULLAMARINE 1 1 WILLIAMS LANDING 1 5 6 WINDSOR 1 1 Grand Total 5 50 76 70 201 The key points shown by Table 1 are: Melbourne Airport and Moorabbin Airport have slightly more clients than Essendon Airport. Seven suburbs receive clients from both Essendon Airport and Melbourne Airport, which are relatively close to each other. 33
Figure 31 Client density by suburb for Quarter 3 of 2012 with an overlay of tracks for sample period 22 January, 2, 15 March and 7 September 2012 at Melbourne Airport, Essendon Airport, Moorabbin Airport and Avalon Airport Arrivals Departures Local operations including circuits The key points shown by Figure 31 are: The majority of complaints about aircraft noise in the Melbourne Basin are associated with movements at Melbourne Airport, Essendon Airport and Moorabbin Airport. The few complaints associated with Avalon Airport are from residents who live under the approach flight path to Runway 36. 34
Figure 32 Client density by suburb for Quarter 3 of 2012 with an overlay of tracks for sample period 22 January, 2, 15 March and 7 September 2012 at Melbourne, Essendon, Moorabbin and Avalon Airports (zoomed in on Melbourne and Essendon Airports) Arrivals Departures Local operations including circuits The key points shown in Figure 32 are: Most of the complaints associated with Melbourne Airport are from suburbs to the south of the airport, which are subject to both arrivals to Runway 34 and departures from Runway 16. Many of the complaints from suburbs close to Melbourne Airport were about aircraft noise at night. Many of the complaints from Strathmore were to do with helicopter operations at Essendon Airport. Some of these movements were by helicopters involved in emergency operations. The suburb of Essendon North received a number of complaints to do with low aircraft. This suburb is under the flight path for arrivals and departures to Essendon Airport. The suburb of Keilor is overflown by departures from Runway 16 at Melbourne Airport. 35
Figure 33 Client density by suburb for Quarter 3 of 2012 with an overlay of tracks for sample period 22 January, 2, 15 March and 7 September 2012 at Melbourne, Essendon, Moorabbin and Avalon Airports (zoomed in on Moorabbin Airport) Arrivals Departures Local operations including circuits The key points shown by Figure 33 are: Dingley Village is subject to noise from circuit training. The complaints from this suburb were about both propeller aircraft and helicopters. The other suburbs with more than one client for Moorabbin Airport experience aircraft noise from a combination of circuits, arrivals and departures. The majority of complaints at Moorabbin Airport are from suburbs close to the airport. 36
5.2 Issues raised by NCIS clients Figure 31 shows the top five issues raised by clients at Melbourne, Moorabbin, Essendon and Avalon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 3 of 2012. A single contact can involve multiple issues (ie. a client may have raised more than one issue when they contacted the NCIS). During Quarter 3 of 2012, the issues raised by the greatest number of clients were: Jet Aircraft Melbourne (Intl), Propeller Aircraft Moorabbin, Circuit Training Moorabbin, Increased Frequency of Air Traffic Melbourne (Intl) and Aircraft Height Melbourne (Intl). Figure 34 Top five issues for Melbourne, Moorabbin, Essendon and Avalon Airport for the 15 month period, July 2011 to September 2012 The key points shown by Figure 34 are: There was a significant spike in complaints about jet aircraft at Melbourne Airport in December 2011. This was due to a combination of factors, including runway works during the month which meant that there was a concentration of flights over a few suburbs, poor weather causing restricted use of runways which led to concentration of flights, and an increase in missed approaches, which can cause noise to residents living near an airport. These same causes were responsible for a spike in complaints in September 2012. 37
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/about-making-acomplaint/) telephone 1800 802 584 (freecall) or 1300 302 240 (local call Sydney) fax (02) 9556 6641 or 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. 38