Crippling cost revealed of Greens push for Brisbane Airport flight limits

A push by the federal Greens to introduce flight caps and curfews at Brisbane Airport would have devastating consequences across the state, new data has revealed.

Shock new figures show the devastating impact a bid by the Greens to restrict flights at Brisbane Airport would have across Queensland.

The Greens are set to table a bill in federal parliament proposing a cap and curfew for Brisbane Airport to alleviate long-running noise complaints for residents living in the flight paths.

However, figures obtained by The Sunday Mail show the measure would have dire consequences for travel across the state, with thousands of flights a year slashed and billions of dollars wiped from the Queensland economy in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympics.

Flight caps and curfews would have a major impact on travel around Queensland, according to new data from Brisbane Airport.

Queensland’s Federal Greens will attend a protest about the issue at Brisbane Airport on June 10 before presenting their plan to parliament.

The plan involves a curfew from 10pm to 6am with flights during remaining hours to be capped at 45 per hour.

Since the addition of a second runway, Brisbane Airport often handles 50-60 flights an hour during peak periods, most concentrated in the midmorning.

Queensland tourism and regional figures have warned the Greens’ plan would have catastrophic impacts across the state just as travel returns to normal after the pandemic, with Queensland Economic Advocacy Solutions data suggesting more than 3000 flights affecting almost 250,000 passengers would be slashed by 2026.

By the 2032 Olympics, a flight cap would be costing the Queensland economy almost $3b a year.

Australia’s Tourism and Transport Forum CEO Margy Osmond said hourly flight caps could potentially “create chaos” across the entire country’s travel network.

Tourism and Transport Forum CEO Margy Osmond. Picture: Christian Gilles (NCA NewsWire)

“If there is a disruption for whatever reason, it becomes impossible to make those flights up later,” she said.

“We are still trying to get international flights back so if you’re an airline are you going to go to somewhere that makes things difficult or somewhere that welcomes you with open arms?

“And this will not just affect leisure travel, because in the bellies of those passenger planes we send goods from our agriculture and fishing industries around the world.

“A cap in Brisbane is a recipe for disaster.”

Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Brett Fraser said capping the number of flights would drive up prices and place air travel outside the reach of many regional Queenslanders.

Outback MP Robbie Katter said any flight cap would cripple travel for regional communities.

“We already have issues with limited services and high prices and it stands to reason that most of the flight losses would be the smaller, regional flights that are not as attractive or profitable for the airlines,” he said.

“There are other options to tackle noise issues such as redirecting more flights over Moreton Bay.

“This is more about optics in trying to help a small number of people at the expense of serious consequences for thousands of people across regional Queensland.

“We will be fighting this strongly.”

Robbie Katter, Queensland MP for the outback seat of Traeger, says any flight curfew would have serious ramifications for the bush. Picture: Supplied

Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport has an overnight curfew, but a second facility in western Sydney slated to open in 2026 would be curfew-free.

In a statement, Greens’ transport spokesperson Elizabeth Watson-Brown said a growing number of people supported a flight cap and curfew.

“Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to a healthy life, which is why the Greens are backing the community’s demands for the introduction of a curfew and a cap on flights,” she said.

“As air traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels, more and more Brisbane residents are suffering under Brisbane Airport’s new runway, and more residents are understandably getting fed up.

“Sydney has had a curfew and a cap on flights since the 1990s, and it of course remains a thriving global city with some of the cheapest airfares in the country.”

Greens MP and the party’s transport spokesperson Elizabeth Watson-Brown. Picture: Lachie Millard

The Greens would need support from Labor for the plan to be adopted in federal parliament.

Brisbane Airport Corporation’s Stephen Beckett said caps and a curfew would have “a brutal impact” on Queensland’s economy, slashing 30,000 jobs across the state by 2032.

“It will become more difficult for Queenslanders living in the regions to visit family and friends, travel for holidays, business, or for specialist medical care and would result in fewer flights than when BNE operated a single runway,” he said.

“Caps and a curfew would strip Queensland of the tourism benefits the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”