Melbourne Basin Aircraft Noise Information Report Quarter 1 2013 (January to March) 1
Version Control Version Number Detail Prepared by Date 1 - Environment 16 May 2013 2 Amend page 25 Environment 14 August 2013 Airservices Australia. All rights reserved. This r eport cont ains a su mmary of data co llected ove r th e s pecified period an d is intended to conv ey the be st information available from the NF PMS at the ti me. 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 b e guaranteed. A irservices Au stralia do es not acc ept a ny lega l liability fo r 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 4 1.1. Melbourne Airport 4 1.2. Essendon Airport 4 1.3. Moorabbin Airport 4 1.4. Avalon Airport 4 1.5. Aircraft noise monitoring in Melbourne 5 2. FLIGHT PATTERNS 8 2.1. Jet aircraft 8 2.2. Non jet aircraft 11 2.3. Track density plots 13 3. AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS 15 3.1. Melbourne Airport 15 3.2. Essendon Airport 20 3.3. Moorabbin Airport 23 3.4. Avalon Airport 24 4. NOISE MONITORING 25 5. COMPLAINTS DATA 33 5.1. NCIS Clients by suburb 33 5.2. Issues raised by NCIS clients 40 3
1. Purpose This report summarises data for Quarter 1 of 2013 (January to March) 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 1 of 2013 there were over 54,000 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 1 of 2013 there were over 12,000 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. 4
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. 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 February 2013, 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, February 2013 (one month) Melbourne Airport Lilydale Airport Essendon Airport RAAF Point Cook Moorabbin Airport Avalon Airport Key points shown by Figure 2 are: The vast the majority of jet traffic occurs at Melbourne Airport. These are mostly RPT operations involving medium to large jets. 8
A small number of wide and large body jets also operate out of Avalon Airport. A small number of business and corporate jets operate out of Essendon Airport and Moorabbin Airport. 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 spread mainly between from the east, south and north. Figure 3 Jet departures for the Melbourne basin, February 2013 (one month) Melbourne Airport Lilydale Airport Essendon Airport RAAF Point Cook Moorabbin Airport Avalon 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 9
noise from arriving jets at the same altitude, even though they overfly nearby suburbs at a greater height. Jet departures at Melbourne Airport are mainly to the north and west. 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. 10
2.2. Non jet aircraft Figure 4 shows non jet tracks (arrivals and departures) in the Melbourne basin for the month of February 2013. 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, February 2013 (one month) Melbourne Airport Lilydale Airport 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, indicating that aircraft are generally maintaining a height of around 1000ft (in line with Civil Aviation Safety Authority height requirements for circuit operations). 11
In Figure 4 the circuit operations at Lilydale Airport (40 km east of the CBD) are also 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 are providing regular passenger transport services and follow similar flight paths as those 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. 12
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. 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. Figure 5 shows a track density plot for all movements over the Melbourne Basin for Quarter 1 of 2013. The grid size adopted is 200m x 200m. The colour coding from green to red represents the range two flight tracks per day to 20 (184 to 1840 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. 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).. 13
Figure 5 Track density plot for the Melbourne region, Quarter 1 of 2013 Lilydale Airport Melbourne Airport 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. 14
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 1 of 2013. Figure 6 Aircraft movements at Melbourne Airport from January 2012 to March 2013 Key points shown by Figure 6 are: Jet movements have remained above 14,000 and below 18,000 per month over the last 15 months. The slight dips that occurred in February 2012 and 2013 are partly due to this month being short and also due to a small decline in domestic flights, as fewer people travel for leisure reasons so soon after the end of the summer holiday. Propeller aircraft usage has remained constant, at 2000 per month. Helicopter movements are less than 0.1% of the overall movement numbers. 15
Figure 7 shows runway usage for arrivals and departures at Melbourne Airport for the 15 month period up to the end of Quarter 1 of 2013. 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 January 2012 to March 2013 16
Figure 8 Runway 16 usage at Melbourne Airport 2010 to 2013 17
Figure 9 Runway 27 usage at Melbourne Airport 2010 to 2013 Key points shown by figures 7 to 9 are: Use of Runway 16 is heaviest during the November to March period. Use of Runway 27 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 for 2011 line for those months in Figure 9. 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. 18
Figure 10 Night movements Melbourne Airport (11.00pm to 6.00am) by Runway October 2011 to December 2012 The key points shown by Figure 10 are: Over the 15 months January 2012 to March 2013, the use of the night-time preferred runway mode (arrivals on to 16 and departures off 27) is lower than the non-preferred runway use. Between October 2012 and March 2013, the night-time preferred runway mode (arrivals to Runway 16 and departures from Runway 27) was used most in all months except December 2012 and March 2013. The prevailing wind conditions during the year determine sometimes limit the use of the preferred runway mode. 19
3.2. Essendon Airport Figure 12 shows aircraft movements at Essendon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 1 of 2013. Figure 12 Aircraft movements to Essendon Airport to Quarter 1 of 2013 Essendon Airport Movements Circuits Arrival/Departure 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 JANUARY FEBRUARY Number of Movements MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013 Key points shown by Figure 12 are: 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 1 of 2013. Figure 13 shows the runways used during the curfew movements at Essendon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 1 of 2013. Exceptions to curfew restrictions set out in the Regulations include: Propeller aircraft that are less than 8618 kg (shown as approved in Figure 13) 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 20
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 January 2012 to March 2013 by curfew category Essendon Curfew Movements 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 January February March April May June July Number of Movements August September October November December January February March approved emergency PreCurfew Taxi Query 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013 Key points shown by Figure 13 are: Up till the beginning of December 2012, there are on average approximately four movements per night during curfew hours. Since December 2012 the average nightly movement number has increased to six per night. There has been a marked increase in the amount of emergency operations (air ambulance and police) during curfew hours in the last four months. The number of approved aircraft (types approved by the curfew requirements) operating during the curfew has dropped over the last four months. It is possible that more approved aircraft are being used for emergency purposes. This is being explored further by Airservices. 21
Figure 14 Runway usage for curfew movements (11.00pm to 06.00am) at Essendon Airport January 2012 to March 2013 Essendon Curfew Runway Usage 100 80 60 40 20 0 January February March April May June July August September October November December January February March Number of Movements rwy08 rwy17 rwy26 rwy35 rwyhe 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013 Key points shown by Figure 14 are: The use of the helipad is driven by police and emergency services helicopters (rwyhe in Figure 14). 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) 22
3.3. Moorabbin Airport Figure 15 shows aircraft movements at Moorabbin Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 1 of 2013. Figure 15 Aircraft movements to Moorabbin Airport to Quarter 1 of 2013 Moorabbin Airport Movements Circuits Arrival/Departure 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER Number of Movements NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH 201220122012201220122012201220122012201220122012201320132013 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 for March 2012. This was because tertiary students start their courses in February, and start actually flying in March. A smaller spike occurred for the same reason in March 2013. There was a slight dip in movements in December 2012/ January 2013, due to courses being over for the year. 23
3.4. Avalon Airport Figure 16 shows aircraft movements at Avalon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 1 of 2013. Figure 16 Aircraft movements to Avalon Airport to Quarter 1 of 2013 Avalon Airport Movements Curcuits Arrival/Departure 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY Number of Movements AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013 The key points shown by Figure 16 are: 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 peak in arrival/departure numbers for February 2013 was due to the Avalon Airshow during the week of February (this is occurs every two years) 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. 24
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 17 to 30 show data from the seven Melbourne EMUs for the last fifteen months (see Figure 1 for the location of EMUs). The terms used within each of these figures 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. 25
Figure 17 Average daily noise events at EMU 2 (Bulla) from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 16 and departures from Melbourne Runway 34) EMU 2 300.0 Number of Noise Events 250.0 200.0 150.0 100.0 50.0 0.0 N65 N70 N80 N90 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Figure 18 Average noise levels at EMU 2 from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 70.0 EMU 2 Average Noise Levels in db(a) 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 The key points shown by figures 17 to 18 are: The monitor at Bulla detects significantly more events than at any other Melbourne EMU location. The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 2 reflects the seasonal trends for arrivals to Runway 16, with more events recorded in summer than in winter. The night-time average noise levels (LAeq) is similar to the 24 hour (day) average. 26
Figure 19 Average daily noise events at EMU 3 (Keilor East) from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 (captures arrivals onto Melbourne Runway 34). EMU 3 Number of Noise Events 45.0 40.0 35.0 30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 N65 N70 N80 N90 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Figure 20 Average noise levels at EMU 3 from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 70.0 EMU 3 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Average Noise Levels in db(a) Q1_2013 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 The key points shown by figures 19 to 20 are: The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 3 reflects the seasonal trend for arrivals to Runway 34 (see Figure 7), with more events recorded in winter than in summer. EMU 2 is generally quieter than the Bulla monitor (lower LAeq). 27
Figure 21 Average daily noise events at EMU 4 (Essendon) from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 34 and arrivals to Essendon Runway 35 and departures off Essendon Runway 17) Number of Noise Events 90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 EMU 4 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 N65 N70 N80 N90 Figure 22 Average noise levels at EMU 4 from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 70.0 EMU 4 Average Noise Levels in db(a) 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 The key point shown by figures 21 and 22 is: The reduced use of Runway 34 at Melbourne during Q4 2012 and Q1 2013 should result in a reduction of noise events at EMU 4 during this period. However this is offset by the use of Runway 17 at Essendon during the same period. 28
Figure 23 Average daily noise events at EMU 6 (Coolaroo) from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 27) Number of Noise Events 140.0 120.0 100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 EMU 6 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 N65 N70 N80 N90 Figure 24 Average noise levels at EMU 6 from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 80.0 EMU 6 Average Noise Levels in db(a) 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 The key point shown by Figures 23 and 24 is: The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 6 reflects the seasonal trend for arrivals to Runway 27. The lack of correlation with the trend of Runway 27 use is understandable as there are some part of the year (where the bulk of the use of Runway 27 is biased towards departures. Departures off 27 do not overfly EMU 6. The spike in daily average LAeq(24hr) during Q3 2012 is attributed to maintenance performed on the EMU on the 19 th September 2012. Excluding this event, the daily average LAeq(24hr) noise level around 60.5 db(a). 29
Figure 25 Average daily noise events at EMU 60 (Keilor Village) from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 34 and departures from Melbourne Runway 16) Number of Noise Events 140.0 120.0 100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 EMU 60 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 N65 N70 N80 N90 Figure 26 Average noise levels at EMU 60 from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 70.0 EMU 60 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Average Noise Levels in db(a) Q1_2013 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 The key points shown by figures 25 to 26 are: Although arrivals onto Runway 34 fly close to EMU 60 it is more sensitive to departures off Runway 16. The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 60 reflects the seasonal trend for departures off Runway 16 (see Figure 7), with more events recorded in summer than in summer. 30
Figure 27 Average daily noise events at EMU 61 (Thomastown) from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 27) Number of Noise Events 100.0 90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 EMU 61 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 N65 N70 N80 N90 Figure 28 Average noise levels at EMU 61 from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 70.0 EMU 61 Average Noise Levels in db(a) 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 The key points shown by figures 27 to 28 are: EMU 61 had a hardware issue between the 15th 20th February 2013. No noise events were recorded during this time. This will have little affect on the overall statistics fro this site. EMU 61 Experienced intermittent outages in Q2 2012 (between 10 to 25 June 2012) due to a hardware failure. This may have contributed to the spike in average noise levels during this period. The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 61 reflects the seasonal trend for arrivals to Runway 27 (see Figure 9), with more events recorded in winter than in summer. As a result the trends for this mirror those for EMU 6. 31
Figure 29 Average daily noise events at EMU 64 (Diggers Rest) from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 (departures from Runway 27) EMU 64 Number of Noise Events 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 N65 N70 N80 N90 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Q1_2013 Figure 30 Average noise levels at EMU 64 from Quarter 1 of 2012 to Quarter 1 of 2013 70.0 EMU 64 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Q1_2012 Q2_2012 Q3_2012 Q4_2012 Average Noise Levels in db(a) Q1_2013 Daily Average LAeq(24hr) Daily Average LAeq(night) L90 The key points shown by figures 29 to 30 are: This monitor is located several kilometres east of the main flight path. The noise captured by this monitor is dependant on where aircraft destined for airports north of Melbourne begin their turn to the north. This is dependant on the weather conditions, which vary throughout the year. The Diggers Rest EMU will be decommissioned during Q2 2013, following the recommendations put forward within the 2010 review of Melbourne EMUs. 32
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 204 clients from Melbourne, Moorabbin, Essendon and Avalon Airport during Quarter 1 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 during the quarter. The data does not include clients who contacted other organisations (eg. airports). Some clients lodged complaints for more than 1 airport. Table 1 provides a breakdown of clients for each airport within the Melbourne basin for the period January to March 2013. Figure 31 shows client density for the Melbourne basin with flight tracks overlaid for Melbourne, Moorabbin, Essendon and Avalon Airport for Quarter 1 of 2013. Figure 32 shows the client density map zoomed in for Melbourne and Essendon airports and Figure 33 show the corresponding map for Moorabbin Airport. 33
Table 1 Recorded Clients January to March 2013 by Suburb and Airport Suburb Avalon Essendon Melbourne Moorabbin Aberfeldie 0 1 0 0 Albanvale 0 0 1 0 Albert Park 0 0 2 0 Albion 0 0 1 0 Ardeer 0 0 1 0 Ascot Vale 0 1 0 0 Ashburton 0 0 1 0 Ashwood 0 0 1 0 Aspendale 0 0 0 1 Aspendale Gardens 0 0 1 1 Attwood 0 0 1 0 Balwyn North 0 0 1 0 Beaconsfield Upper 0 1 1 1 Belmont 0 0 1 0 Boxhill South 0 0 1 0 Braybrook 0 0 1 0 Broadmeadows 0 2 3 0 Brunswick 0 1 0 0 Caroline Springs 0 0 2 0 Caulfield 0 0 0 1 Cheltenham 0 0 0 4 Clarinda 0 0 0 1 Clayton South 0 0 1 2 Cowandilla 0 0 1 0 Craigieburn 0 0 1 0 Cremorne 0 1 0 1 Daylesford 0 0 1 0 Deer Park 0 0 1 0 Diggers Rest 0 0 1 0 Dingley Village 0 0 1 13 Doncaster East 0 1 0 0 East Melbourne 0 5 2 0 Epping 0 0 1 0 Essendon 0 1 0 0 Essendon Airport 0 1 0 0 Essendon North 0 4 1 0 Eynesbury 0 0 1 0 Footscray 0 0 1 0 Geelong West 1 0 0 0 Gisborne South 0 0 1 0 Glen Iris 0 0 1 0 Glen Waverley 0 1 0 0 Glenside 0 0 1 0 Hawthorne 0 2 0 0 Heatherton 0 0 0 1 Hillside 0 1 0 0 34
Suburb Avalon Essendon Melbourne Moorabbin Ivanhoe 0 2 0 0 Kealba 0 0 2 0 Keilor 0 0 18 0 Keilor East 0 0 1 0 Keilor Park 0 0 3 0 Keilor Village 0 0 1 0 Kensington 0 0 1 0 Kew 0 0 1 0 Kilmore 0 0 1 0 Kinglake West 0 0 1 0 Kingsville 0 0 1 0 Lalor 0 0 1 0 Lyndhurst 0 0 0 1 Maidstone 0 0 1 0 Maribyrnong 0 1 0 1 Mentone 0 0 0 6 Mickleham 0 0 1 0 Moonee Ponds 0 1 0 0 Mordialloc 0 0 0 3 Mount Martha 0 1 0 1 Newport 0 0 1 0 Niddrie 0 2 2 0 Noble Park 0 0 0 1 North Sunshine 0 0 1 0 Oak Park 0 3 0 0 Parkdale 0 0 0 2 Parkdale / Braeside 0 0 0 1 Pascoe Vale 0 1 1 0 Port Melbourne 0 0 1 0 Prahran 0 1 0 1 Richmond 0 1 2 0 Riddles Creek 0 0 1 0 Roxley Park 0 0 1 0 Sandhurst 0 0 0 1 South Kingsville 0 0 1 0 South Yarra 0 1 0 0 Springvale 0 0 0 1 St Albans 0 0 8 0 St Kilda 1 1 2 0 St Kilda East 0 0 0 1 St. Albans 0 0 1 0 Strathmore 0 9 0 0 Strathmore Heights 0 1 0 0 Sunbury 0 2 0 0 Sunshine North 0 0 1 0 Templestowe 0 0 1 0 Thomastown 0 0 1 0 Thornbury 0 1 0 0 Tullamarine 0 0 1 0 Wallington 1 0 0 0 35
Suburb Avalon Essendon Melbourne Moorabbin Wast Melbourne 0 1 0 0 Westmeadows 0 0 3 0 Williams Landing 0 0 1 0 Williamstown 0 1 2 1 Windsor 0 0 1 0 Total 3 53 101 47 The key points shown by Table 1 are: Melbourne Airport has the greatest number of clients with Essendon and Moorabbin airports having approximately the same count. The suburb with the highest number of clients is Keilor (18 clients with concerns of operations at Melbourne Airport) followed by the suburb of Dingley Village (13 with concerns with Moorabbin Airport) Eight suburbs have clients at two airports and four suburbs have clients from 3 airports. Six individual operations were the subject of complaints from four or more clients. Of these, five were night time movements (between 11.00pm and 6.00am) and five were departures from Runway 16. 36
Figure 31 Client density by suburb for Quarter 1 of 2013 with an overlay of tracks for sample period 2 to 8 March 2013 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. 37
Figure 32 Client density by suburb for Quarter 1 of 2013 with an overlay of tracks for sample period 2 to 8 March 2013 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 for Essendon Airport were to do with helicopter operations. These were from across the area, and not focussed on one or two suburbs. Complaints received from Strathmore were generally to do with arrivals to Essendon Airport Runway 26, which complaints from Essendon North were associated with low flying jets. This suburb is under the flight path for arrivals and departures at Essendon Airport. 38
Figure 33 Client density by suburb for Quarter 1 of 2013 with an overlay of tracks for sample period 2 to 8 March 2013 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. 39
5.2. Issues raised by NCIS clients Figure 31 shows the top five issues raised by clients within the Melbourne basin for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 1 of 2013. A single contact can involve multiple issues (ie. a client may have raised more than one issue when they contacted the NCIS). During Quarter 1 of 2013, the issues raised by the greatest number of clients were: Jet Aircraft, Increased Frequency of Air Traffic, Aircraft Height, Runway 16 Departure and Runway 34 Arrivals Figure 34 Top five issues for Melbourne Airport for the 15 month period, January 2012 to March 2013 15 Month Trend - Top 5 Issues 50 Jet Aircraft 40 30 20 10 0 Jan-12 Feb-12 Mar-12 Apr-12 May-12 Jun-12 Jul-12 Number of clients raising issue Aug-12 Sep-12 Oct-12 Nov-12 Dec-12 Jan-13 Feb-13 Mar-13 Aircraft Height Increased Frequency of Air Traffic JET AIRCRAFT INCREASED FREQUENCY OF AIR TRAFFIC AIRCRAFT HEIGHT RUNWAY 16 DEP RUNWAY 34 ARR The key points shown by Figure 34 are: Client numbers for Melbourne Airport tend to track seasonal patterns for the use of Runway 16 for departures. These are also associated with complaints from the suburb of Keilor. There are more movements on Runway 16 during summer explaining why complaints associated with Runway 16 are higher during summer. The spike in Quarter 4 of 2012 in complaints associated with Melbourne Airport could also be due to an increase in awareness of operations at the airport in the lead up to the announcement of the proposed third runway in November 2012. Although not included in the top five issues (for the Melbourne Basin), there was an increase in client numbers for Moorabbin Airport in Quarter 1 of 2013. This is not associated with an increase in movements at the airport (in fact, there was a slight decrease in movements during the quarter). It may due to more people being outside during the good weather in summer and therefore noticing aircraft noise more. 40
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. 41