Brisbane Airport’s plan to cut aircraft noise over suburbs

A controversial new trial at Brisbane Airport could slash noise complaints by steering night flights over Moreton Bay, but pilots are sceptical about the safety implications.

Early morning flights such as those operated by Emirates from Brisbane will be part of the trial. Picture: AFP

An initiative to reduce aircraft noise in Brisbane will begin on Monday evening if sceptical pilots agree to support the trial at the most complained about airport in Australia.

An 18-month experiment increasing the maximum allowable tailwind speed for departures aims to get more aircraft taking off over Moreton Bay instead of above the city’s homes.

It comes on the back of a spike in noise complaints in Brisbane after changes to flight paths triggered by the opening of the para­llel runway in 2020.

Brisbane Airport is partnering with Airservices Australia for the trial between the hours of 10pm and 6am, with aircraft to be directed over the water when the tailwind component is 10 knots or less, instead of 5kts or under. After six months, the trial will be expanded to include arrivals providing other conditions are suitable.

The airport previously attempted to have the maximum allowable tailwind speed lifted from 5kts to 10kts but the Civil Aviation Safety Authority knocked that back in 2021. This new trial did not require specific CASA approval, but the regulator said it was supportive. “The trial applies to departures only and will allow a pilot to make an operational decision about whether they can safely accept operations on a runway with a tailwind that may exceed five knots and use a non-nominated runway,” a CASA spokesman said.

Brisbane Airport hopes a trial will lead to more aircraft taking off over Moreton Bay instead of residential areas between 10pm and 6am.

Brisbane Airport’s head of airspace management Tim Boyle said safety was always the top priority at the gateway and stressed that “passengers will not notice any difference”.

“But each time a pilot chooses an over-the-water departure path, it reduces the impact on the community,” Mr Boyle said.

“Even a handful of flights each week will provide valuable data over the 18-month trial as part of this long-term project to reduce noise for our community.”

Pilots were strongly opposed to the earlier attempt to increase tailwind speeds for arrivals and departures at Brisbane Airport, and were sceptical about the new trial.

Australian and International Pilots Association safety and technical director Steve Cornell questioned whether any pilots would be willing to participate, given the lack of safety analysis around higher tailwind departures.

“We do know that a higher tailwind can decrease the lift of an aircraft on departure,” Mr Cornell said.

“In incidents such as the engine failure on a Qantas 737 from Sydney to Brisbane last year, that could be disastrous.”

Aircraft at Brisbane Airport previously operated with a 10 knot tailwind allowance up until 2016, when changes were made reducing the allowance to 5 kts.

Airservices Australia data showed more noise complaints were received in relation to Brisbane Airport than any other major gateway. In October, 130 complaints were lodged compared with 57 in Sydney, 35 in Perth, 30 in Melbourne and under 10 on the Sunshine Coast, Hobart, Ballina and the Gold Coast.

Figures were similar in September when 138 complaints were lodged, double that of Sydney on 67, and more than all the other airports combined (127).

Brisbane Airport and Airservices are attempting to increase the use of simultaneous opposite direction parallel runway operations, whereby aircraft can take off and land from and over Moreton Bay at the same time.

Originally published as Brisbane Airport’s plan to cut aircraft noise over suburbs