Greens’ flight cap to ‘drive prices up’, Brisbane Airport claims
More than 1 million passengers a year would be grounded, and multiple major international carriers and destinations impacted under a controversial Greens plan to introduce the cap and curfew at Brisbane Airport.
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More than 1 million passengers would have been grounded in the past 12 months alone, if a curfew had been in place at Brisbane Airport, the company behind the major aviation hub says.
It follows Greens Transport spokeswoman Elizabeth Watson-Brown announcing the party’s long-planned private member’s bill to introduce the cap and curfew would be debated in parliament in October.
The Greens picked up three inner-Brisbane seats, Ryan, Griffith and Brisbane, at last year’s federal election off the back of a campaign targeting airport noise.
In the previous parliament Greens leader Adam Bandt moved a similar bill seeking to cap flights to 45 per hour and introduce a curfew between 10pm and 6am, but it did not gain traction.
According to Brisbane Airport Corporation data, there were 515,281 domestic passengers and 551,139 international passengers on flights coming and going from the airport between those hours.
It estimates this could be as many as 3.4 million passengers impacted by a curfew by 2032, while it receives noise complaints from about 50 people per month.
International flights that could be impacted include Qatar (Doha), Singapore Airlines (Singapore), Jetstar (Bali), Emirates (Dubai), Qantas (Auckland), Fiji Airways (Nadi), Virgin (Bali and Fiji), Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong), Eva (Tapei), China Airlines (Tapei), Vietjet (Ho Chi Minh City)
Brisbane Airport Corporation spokesman Stephen Beckett said the proposal was a “threat to affordability”.
“It beggars’ belief, that in the middle of a national debate about Australians accessing affordable air travel, that the Greens would want to slash international services as well as thousands of services to regional Queensland,” Mr Beckett said.
“Wiping out services from Qatar Airways, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Qantas and Virgin which currently depart after 10pm would hit Queenslanders hard.
“We recognise for people who live close to the airport or under a flight path, that noise is a genuine issue. That’s why we’re working with our airline partners and Airservices Australia to get more flights over the waters of Moreton Bay.”
It follows reports the cost of flights in some key routes have risen by up to 65 per cent.
Ms Watson-Brown said Brisbane residents impacted by airport noise should contact their local MPs and Labor Senators to pressure them to back the reforms.
“It’s pretty basic stuff. Noise abatement mechanisms like these are already in place and providing relief for other communities near other airports across Australia, including at Sydney Airport,” Ms Watson-Brown said in a social media post on Monday.
“Brisbane Airport plans to double air traffic over Brisbane between now and 2035, meaning without serious solutions like a cap and curfew, noise from Brisbane Airport is only going to get worse.
“It’s time the government listened to the Brisbane community on flight noise. Their ask is simple: They want a curfew and cap on flights just like Sydney has.”
Acting Premier Steven Miles said shutting the airport down went against the best interests of the communities the Greens represented.
“Every city needs a functioning airport, airports are critical to our productivity, they’re critical to our ability to bring in tourists,” he said.
Last year it was revealed Brisbane Airport had more noise complaints against it in 2021-22 than nine other major airports combined.
On Monday night there would have been eight flights impacted by a 10pm to 6am curfew.
This included four arrivals, two from Denpasar and one each from Hong Kong and Dubai, as well as four departures, from Taipei, Doha, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh.
There has been an increase in flights redirected over Moreton Bay in a bid to reduce airport noise from Brisbane’s second runway.
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