Suburbs affected by Brisbane new runway flight paths

Next year’s opening of Brisbane Airport’s new runway will streamline flight paths over northern suburbs, but will direct more than 60 aircraft over some areas for the very first time.

A view of an Air New Zealand flight taking off from the air traffic control tower at Brisbane Airport. Picture: Tara Croser

THE opening of Brisbane’s new runway next year will streamline the flight paths over north Brisbane, but will direct more than 60 aircraft over some suburbs which have rarely experienced a plane overhead.

Departure flights will shift further west, removing aircraft above 12 suburbs: Brighton, Deagon, Nudgee Beach, Zillmere, Aspley, Chermside, Chermside West, Stafford Heights, Stafford, Enoggera, Alderley and Keperra.

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However residents in 10 other suburbs will be under the flight path for the first time: Upper Kedron, Albany Creek, Bridgeman Downs, Banyo, Nudgee, Bald Hills, Strathpine, Bray Park, Lawnton and Joyner.

Despite alarm expressed by some residents on social media, a Brisbane Airport Corporation spokeswoman said most flights would be at high altitudes and aircraft noise was “unlikely to be noticeable”.

“To keep the community well informed about what to expect when the new flight paths come into effect, Brisbane Airport Corporation has developed a Flight Path Toolwhich enables individuals to check any specific address in Brisbane,” the spokeswoman said.

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FLIGHT PATH CHANGES ACROSS BRISBANE’S WESTERN SUBURBS

“The tool shows jet arrival and departure flight paths from Brisbane Airport for both current operations and when the new runway opens.”

She said flights would be directed over the bay as much as possible between 10pm and 6am.

The new runway under construction at Brisbane Airport. Picture: Brisbane Airport Corporation

“It’s important to note that there will be times, as there are now, when the northern suburbs (like all suburbs of Brisbane in fact) will be overflown due to air traffic control moving aircraft around for weather and traffic management.

“Departure flight paths have been taken further west (under the new flight plans) to climb above the arriving aircraft to the new runway and over Mt Coot-tha and Enoggera Reservoir to minimise residential overflight as much as possible.

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“We strongly residents to access the Flight Path Tool which can be accessed on our website to determine specific information for their address.”

Suburbs in the flight path from 6am-10pm include Upper Kedron, Ferny Grove, Ferny Hills, Arana Hills, Bunya, Albany Creek, Bridgeman Downs, Carseldine, Fitzgibbon, Bracken Ridge and Sandgate

A view of the Domestic Terminal from the air traffic control tower at Brisbane Airport. Picture: Tara Croser

“These departures will be between around 10,000 and 20,000 feet over these areas and should not be noticeable as background noise levels will generally be higher than the aircraft noise,” the spokeswoman said.

“There will be up to 63 flights on a day between 6am and 10pm when the wind is a southerly.”

Residents under the current flight path can experience a maximum of between six and 67 flights a day.

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Between 10pm and 6am, there will be up to six flights a night over Banyo, Nudgee, Boondall, Taigum, Fitzgibbon, Bracken Ridge, Bald Hills, Strathpine, Bray Park, Lawnton and Joyner.

“Again these departures will be very high, generally above 20,000 feet and unlikely to be noticeable,” the spokeswoman said.

The current flight path has a maximum of four flights a night.

According to the flight path tool, most suburbs will experience noise of less than 70 decibels, which the BAC spokeswoman said was equivalent to a car passing by at 60km/hr about 7km away.