Hunters Hill Reverend Michael Armstrong speaks out over aircraft noise as church services struck by noisy planes

Parishioners at one of Sydney’s oldest churches are calling for changes to Sydney Airport flight paths because of a rise in noisy planes impacting church services and disrupting sermons.

Parishioners at one of Sydney’s oldest churches are calling for changes to Sydney Airport flight paths because of a rise in noisy planes impacting church services and disrupting sermons.

Low-flying aircraft are leaving parishioners at the All Saints’ and St Mark’s Anglican churches in Hunters Hill at their wits’ end as a new study shows a steady rise in the number of planes flying over Sydney’s northern suburbs.

Reverend Michael Armstrong, who is the parish director for both churches, said some services had to to be paused because of the sound of planes flying directly above.

Rev Arsmtrong said the disruptions impacted sermons as well as this year’s Anzac Day Dawn Service, which had to be paused during the minute of silence.

“Several people in the congregation have hearing issues – even with hearing aids they can’t hear what’s being said – and when I’m trying to give a sermon the point I’m trying to make is often lost because of the noise,” he said.

All Saints Anglican Church at Hunters Hill is the flight path.

“We have to pause during services when aircraft come over and there are some Sunday mornings when it seems the planes are coming over every one to two minutes.

“As a space of worship, people come for peace and quiet and instead are hearing very loud planes.’’

Concerns have been echoed by other residents with a federal government inquiry into aircraft noise hearing complaints from local residents who are unable to concentrate while working from home as well as an inability to enjoy outdoor areas.

About 30 per cent of planes at the airport use the north-south flight path over Hunters Hill.

A report by aviation advocate Tony Williams and professor Andrew Hede of the Sunshine Coast University found volumes of air traffic had increased over the northern suburbs by 4.5 per cent over the past five years.

This publication contacted Sydney Airport for comment and it is understood the post-Covid recovery in aviation has resulted in an increase in flights over a relatively short period.

Figures by Sydney Airport show the number of flights to and from the airport average 833 a day – about 90 per cent of pre-Covid levels and up from 120 flights during the peak of the pandemic.

The parish churches are among the oldest in Sydney.

Of those 833 flights a day, about 250 – or 30 per cent – land on either of Sydney Airport’s two north-south runways and flight paths which impact suburbs including Hunters Hill.

North Sydney federal independent MP Kylea Tink is lobbying for consideration into the sharing of flights across all flight paths in Sydney.

Reverend Armstrong said he was also trying to seek funding grants for noise insulation works at the churches which date back to 1854.

The concerns come as consultation continues on new flight paths proposed for Sydney Airport which would become operational once the new Western Sydney Airport is due to open in 2026.

The diverted flight paths would impact areas of Sydney previously unaffected by direct flight noise including parts of the upper north shore and northern beaches.