Qantas chief Alan Joyce joins push to relax Sydney curfew for cargo flights

Qantas boss Alan Joyce has added his voice to calls for an overhaul of the curfew on cargo flights at Sydney Airport.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce on the curfew at Sydney: “We are trying to get flexibility.” Picture: Kym Smith

Qantas boss Alan Joyce has added his voice to calls for an overhaul of the rules governing freight flights in and out of Sydney Airport during the curfew period.

Mr Joyce pointed to concerns about the rules contained in the Sydney Curfew Act 1995, which mean only the British Aerospace 146 freight ­aircraft can land at the airport ­between 11pm and 6am.

“There are designated aircraft for freight purposes in the act ... and there are quieter aircraft that could operate,” Mr Joyce said. “So we are trying to get flexibility talking to the government about changing it so that we can actually keep the same freight ­operation but with quieter aircraft.”

Qantas joins rival Virgin Australia and Sydney Airport in pushing for a change that would allow newer, low-noise freighters to ­operate during the curfew.

Virgin Australia regional airlines and cargo chief Merren McArthur warned this month that restrictions on freight operations during the curfew were “constraining competition and growth in the freight industry and this will inevitably constrain Australian economic growth”.

Mr Joyce, who was talking from Boeing’s facility in Washington state, where he collected the new Qantas Dreamliner 787, said the emergence of the quieter aircraft “will be a benefit for a lot of communities”.

But he said it was unlikely to spur changes any time soon to the tough curfew laws for passenger aircraft, given the issue was so politically sensitive.

Key carriers are allowed to ­operate a set number of freight flights each week during the curfew at Sydney. Qantas has a quota of 27 BAe-146 movements a week, Virgin has 18, Cobham Aviation Services has 28 and Toll Transport has just the one.

Mr Joyce’s comments on the restrictions come as the government is working on a national freight strategy. Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester said ­recently the use of new, improved aircraft to reduce noise would be considered as part of the review.