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Perth Basin Aircraft Noise Information Report Quarter 3 2013 (July to September)
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Version Control
Version Number Detail Prepared by Date
1 - Environment
© Airservices Australia. All rights reserved.
This report contains a summary of data collected over the specified period and is intended to convey the best information available from the NFPMS at the time. The system databases are to some extent dependent upon external sources and errors may occur. All care is taken in preparation of the report but its complete accuracy can not be guaranteed. Airservices Australia does not accept any legal liability for any losses arising from reliance upon data in this report which may be found to be inaccurate.
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Perth Basin - Aircraft Noise Information Report Contents
1 PURPOSE 4
1.1 Perth Airport 4
1.2 Jandakot Airport 4
1.3 Aircraft noise monitoring in Perth 4
2 FLIGHT PATTERNS 6
2.1 Jet aircraft 6
2.2 Non jet aircraft 9
2.3 Track density plots 11
3 AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS 14
3.1 Perth Airport 14
3.2 Jandakot Airport 20
4 NOISE MONITORING 21
5 COMPLAINTS DATA 28
5.1 NCIS Clients by suburb 28
5.2 Issues raised by NCIS clients 34
6 AIRSERVICES UPDATE 35
6.1 Improving Noise Outcomes 35
6.2 Noise improvements implemented 35
6.3 Noise improvement opportunities 35
7 CONTACT US 37
APPENDIX 1 AIRSERVICES UPDATE 38
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1 Purpose This report summarises data for Quarter 3 of 2013 (July to September) primarily from Airservices Noise and Flight Path Monitoring System (NFPMS) and Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS) for the Perth basin (including Perth Airport and Jandakot Airport) as well as some other sources (such as the Flight Charging System).
1.1 Perth Airport Perth Airport is located 11km east of the central business precinct on the Perth Plains, approximately midway between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Range (see Figure 1). The majority of operations at Perth Airport are international and domestic regular passenger services, mostly medium to large jets. During Quarter 3 of 2013 there were around 38,000 movements at Perth Airport. More information about Perth Airport is available from the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/.
1.2 Jandakot Airport Located 14km south of the central business precinct (see Figure 1), Jandakot Airport is a major flight training airport. A large proportion of its operations involve circuit training1. Essential service organisations such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Police Air Support Unit and the Conservation and Land Management Bushfire Water Bombers also operate out of Jandakot Airport. More information about Jandakot Airport is available from the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/.
1.3 Aircraft noise monitoring in Perth Airservices NFPMS captures and stores radar, flight plan and noise data. The NFPMS covers eight city regions around Australia. For the Perth region, noise data is captured by six noise monitors, also referred to as Environmental Monitoring Units (EMU), located around Perth Airport (see Figure 1).
1 A factsheet about circuit training is available at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/factsheets/
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Figure 1 Location of Perth and Jandakot airports. (Runway orientation at both airports
is shown in the inserts. Noise monitoring sites are shown as red dots). Figure 1 shows runway configurations at Perth Airport and Jandakot Airport. The main runway at Perth Airport, 03/21, is 3.4 km long, orientated approximately south to north. There is a shorter 2.2km long cross runway, 06/24, orientated approximately south-west to north-east, which is used by both propeller and jet aircraft. At Jandakot Airport there is one set of parallel runways, 06L/24R - 06R/24L oriented approximately south west to north east and one other runway 12/30. Information about runway selection is available on the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/factsheets/.
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2 Flight patterns Flight patterns
2.1 Jet aircraft 2.1 Jet aircraft Figure 2 and Figure 3 show jet aircraft track plots for arrivals and departures for the Perth Basin (including Perth and Jandakot airports) for one month in Quarter 3 of 2013 (August), coloured according to height (in feet). Noise monitors are shown as grey circles.
Figure 2 and Figure 3 show jet aircraft track plots for arrivals and departures for the Perth Basin (including Perth and Jandakot airports) for one month in Quarter 3 of 2013 (August), coloured according to height (in feet). Noise monitors are shown as grey circles.
RAAF PEARCE
PERTH AIRPORT
JANDAKOT AIRPORT
RAAF GINGIN
Figure 2 Jet arrivals for the Perth region, August 2013 (one month) Key points shown by Figure 2 are:
The jet approach flight paths into Perth Airport overfly suburbs at altitudes below 3,000 feet, mainly to the south and north of the airport.
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There are some suburbs to the east of the airport that are overflown by jet arrivals at altitudes above 5,000 feet.
Although primarily a general aviation airport, jet movements are identified at Jandakot Airport.
Jet training circuits are identified at both Jandakot Airport and Pearce RAAF base.
Hawk jet and PC9 turbo-prop traffic operate at Gingin RAAF base as trainee pilots conduct circuit procedures and practise instrument approaches away from the main RAAF base.
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RAAF PEARCE
PERTH AIRPORT
JANDAKOT AIRPORT
Figure 3 Jet departures for the Perth region, August 2013 (one month) Key points shown by Figure 3 are:
Suburbs close to Perth Airport are overflown by departing jet aircraft at altitudes below 5,000 feet.
Airspace around Pearce RAAF Base is regularly unavailable for use by civilian traffic. However, Airservices is working to maximise use of this airspace when it is available for all aircraft in order to reduce the noise impact for suburbs close to Perth Airport. These flights can be seen to the north-west of Perth Airport tracking over Pearce RAAF Base. More information about this can be found in Section 6 and Appendix 1 of this report, and on Airservices website at http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/perth.
There is a large spread of departure traffic due to departures taking off to the south and turning right to track north. Many of the departing jets that overfly suburbs to the west of the airport are associated with ‘fly-in fly-out’ movements.
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2.2 Non jet aircraft Figure 4 shows non jet tracks (arrivals and departures) at Perth and Jandakot airports for one month of Quarter 3 of 2013 (August). Noise monitors are shown as grey circles.
RAAF PEARCE
PERTH AIRPORT
JANDAKOT AIRPORT
RAAF GINGIN
Figure 4 Non jet arrivals and departures for the Perth region, August 2013 (one month) The key points shown by Figure 4 are:
Although jet aircraft tend to operate along defined paths, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, when smaller aircraft movements are included on the map, there are no areas of Perth that are not overflown by aircraft at some stage. There are few clear flight patterns for smaller aircraft.
Flights below 3,000 feet tend to be operations to and from Jandakot Airport rather than Perth Airport. This is expected, as the majority of these operations are required to stay below Perth Airport’s controlled air space.
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The circuit patterns (flight training) at Jandakot Airport and Pearce RAAF Base are visible as red ovals on the map.
The circuit patterns can also be seen at RAAF Gingin where PC9 turbo-prop training takes place for both RAAF and Singapore Air Force pilots.
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2.3 Track density plots A track density plot is a map which displays the pattern of aircraft flight tracks passing over the region around the airport and can be useful in showing the underlying track patterns. The region is divided into a set of small grid elements and the number of flights passing over each grid element is calculated. Each grid element is coloured according to the number of overflights. Figure 5 shows a track density plot for all movements over the Perth Basin for Quarter 3 of 2013. The colour coding from green to red represents the range two flight tracks per day to 20 (184 to 1840 flight tracks for the quarter). Areas not colour coded mean the number of aircraft flights on average were less than two a day – it does not mean the area was free of aircraft overflights. The grey circles show the location of each noise monitor (EMU). The track plots in Figure 5 show that residents living up to 15 km from the airports and in line with Perth Airport’s runways are regularly overflown by jet aircraft below 5,000 feet. However, beyond this the regularity of flight path use is not discernible from the track plot display.
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RAAF PEARCE
PERTH AIRPORT
JANDAKOT AIRPORT
RAAF GINGIN
Figure 5 Track density plot for the Perth region, Quarter 3 of 2013 The key points shown by Figure 5 are:
There are distinct flight paths that are regularly used to and from both Perth Airport and Jandakot Airport.
The majority of aircraft using Perth Airport follow flight paths located to the north and east of the airport. Outside restricted military airspace.
Flight paths for Perth Airport are designed to avoid residential areas as much as possible.
Circuit patterns with distinct entry and exit paths are identified at both Jandakot Airport and Pearce RAAF Base.
A similar, although smaller, pattern can be seen at Gingin RAAF base.
To the south of Jandakot Airport, there is a concentrated area of light aircraft activity in relation to the Serpentine Airfield.
The coastal flight path is associated with light aircraft training movements.
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Movements in relation to Rottnest Island are indicated. These operations do not involve training circuits, however arrivals will overfly the airport before landing resulting in the circular pattern.
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3 Aircraft movements
3.1 Perth Airport Figure 6 shows aircraft movements at Perth Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 3 of 2013.
Figure 6 Aircraft movements at Perth Airport
from July 2012 to September 2013 The key points shown by Figure 6 are:
Jet numbers have shown a small increase over the last 15 months. This is consistent with the long term growth in passenger numbers at the airport, largely associated with ‘fly-in fly-out’ operations to mining areas. There is a small drop in movement numbers for the month of February 2013.
Non jet aircraft numbers have slightly declined over the last 15 months.
Helicopter movement numbers at Perth Airport are low. Figure 7, Figure 8 and Figure 9 show runway usage for arrivals and departures at Perth Airport for the 15 month period up to the end of Quarter 3 of 2013. Figure 10 and Figure 11 show runway usage over a four year period for the two busiest runways at the airport. Note that Runway 06/24 closed to all air traffic towards the end of August 2013 for an unspecified period (several months duration) in order to conduct urgent maintenance. Runway selection is based on weather conditions, traffic volume and noise abatement procedures. As the wind changes, the runway in use may change as aircraft primarily take off and land into the wind for safety and performance reasons.
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Figure 7 Runway usage (All) at Perth Airport
from July 2012 to September 2013
Figure 8 Runway usage (Arrivals) at Perth Airport
from July 2012 to September 2013
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Figure 9 Runway usage (Departures) at Perth Airport
from July 2012 to September 2013
Figure 10 Runway 03 usage at Perth Airport 2010 to 2013
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Figure 11 Runway 21 usage at Perth Airport 2010 to 2013
The key points shown by Figure 7, Figure 8, Figure 9, Figure 10 and Figure 11 are:
In summer, the wind at Perth Airport tends to be from the west/south west. Therefore, in summer aircraft tend to use Runway 21, taking off to the south west and arriving from the north east.
In winter, northerly winds are slightly more common at Perth Airport. Therefore in winter aircraft tend to use Runway 03 more, departing to the north and arriving over from the south.
Runway 03/21 is expected to be much higher from August 2013 to about March 2014 than for comparative months due to the forced temporary closure of the cross runway.
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Figure 12 shows aircraft movements at Perth Airport at night (11.00pm to 06.00am) by aircraft type. Figure 13 and Figure 14 show the runways used for night-time movements. Noise Abatement Procedures for Perth Airport state that when conditions permit Runway 21 should be used for both arrivals and departures in preference to Runway 03. For arrivals, Runway 24 has equal preference for arrivals with Runway 21.
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Number of Movements
Perth Night Movements
Heli
Jets
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Figure 12 Night movements (11.00pm to 06.00am) at Perth Airport by aircraft category
he key points shown by Figure 12 are:
ating at night are jets, with only a small an
rcraft operating at night has been fairly constant at around
ours are international flights.
nternational flights,
to Quarter 3 of 2013
T
The vast majority of aircraft opernumber of night time propeller aircraft or helicopter movements (fewer th100 per month).
The number of ai1,100 to 1,200 a month. However their number has been over 1,300 for eachof the last three months.
Arrivals during the night h
Late night (11.00pm to 2.00am) departures are mostly iwhereas early morning (5.00am to 6.00am) are mostly flights to domestic regional destinations.
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Figure 13 Runway usage for night (11.00pm to 06.00am) arrivals at Perth Airport
to Quarter 3 of 2013
Figure 14 Runway usage for night (11.00pm to 06.00am) departures at Perth Airport
to Quarter 3 of 2013
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The key points shown by Figure 13 and Figure 14 are:
Due to prevailing winds and in line with Noise Abatement Procedures, Runways 21 and 24 are used at night more than other runways for arrivals, as in daytime. Runway 21 is also used more for departures.
Note that from August 2013, all night-time flights are using Runways 03/21 due to the temporary closure of the cross runway.
The KEELS trial referred to in Section 6.3 and Appendix 1 makes use whenever possible of restricted Pearce RAAF airspace at night in order to reduce the noise impact of departures to the north-west from Runway 03.
3.2 Jandakot Airport Figure 15(below) shows aircraft movements at Jandakot Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 3 of 2013. The data point for September 2013 was unavailable due at the report preparation time.
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2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013
Movements
Jandakot Airport MovementsCircuits
Arrival/Departure
Figure 15 Aircraft movements to Jandakot Airport to Quarter 3 of 2013
The key points are:
Fluctuations in aircraft movements are due to changes in the number of students enrolled at flying schools at any time, which have no set pattern.
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4 Noise monitoring Airservices collects noise and operational data from noise monitors (EMUs) around Perth Airport. This data can be expressed in a number of ways, to show average noise during a period, background noise levels and number of noise ‘events’ over a certain threshold. Sound is measured on a logarithmic scale with the decibel (dB(A)) as the unit of measure. The sound level of typical daytime urban-based activities can vary between 40dB(A) and 80dB(A). Figure 16 to Figure 21 below show data from the six Perth EMUs for the last fifteen months (see Figure 1 for the location of EMUs). The terms used within each of these figures are: N65: The average number of daily noise events caused by aircraft that are over 65dB(A). Figures for N70, N80 and N90 are also provided. Daily values have been calculated by dividing the number of noise events over an average number of days (30 days) for the month.
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Figure 16: Average daily noise events at EMU 1 (Cannington) from Quarter 3 of 2012 to Quarter 3 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Runway 03 and departures from Runway 21)
The key points shown are:
EMU 1 and EMU 2 are overflown by similar aircraft. However, EMU 2 is located closer to, and aligned with, Runway 03/21, which results in it recording higher noise levels.
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Figure 17: Average daily noise events at EMU 2 (Queens Park) from Quarter 3 of 2012 to Quarter 3 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Runway 03 and departures from Runway 21)
The key points shown are:
Along with EMU 5 (Guildford), EMU 2 records the highest noise levels of all the noise monitors in Perth - these two noise monitors are closest to the end of the runways.
EMU 1 and EMU 2 are overflown by the same aircraft. However, EMU 2 is located closer to, and aligned with, Runway 03/21, which results in it recording higher noise levels.
The seasonal pattern of use is evident.
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Figure 18: Average daily noise events at EMU 4 (Greenmount) from Quarter 3 of 2012 to Quarter 3 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Runway 24 and departures from Runway 06) The key points shown are:
The seasonal variation in the use of Runway 06/24 is normally reflected in the values recorded at this monitor, however the temporary closure of this runway from August 2013 will likely see no aircraft recorded by the monitor until the runway reopens in 2014.
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Figure 19: Average daily noise events at EMU 5 (Guildford) from Quarter 3 of 2012 to Quarter 3 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Runway 21 and departures from Runway 03)
The key points shown are:
Together with EMU 2, EMU 5 records the highest levels of all the noise monitors in Perth. These two monitors are closest to the end of runways and are overflown by both arrivals and departures.
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Figure 20: Average daily noise events at EMU 37 (Beechboro) from Quarter 3 of 2012 to
Quarter 3 of 2013 (captures departures from Runway 03) The key points shown are:
Noise levels at EMU 37 are lower than at other noise monitors due to it being further from the end of a runway. This noise monitor is set only to capture those departures from Runway 03 that turn to the west.
The trend in noise events correlates with the use of Runway 03. There was a peak in the use of this runway for Quarter 2 of 2012 and 2013 which coincides with the peak in noise events recorded by this monitor.
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Figure 21: Average daily noise events at EMU 40 (Lathlain) from Quarter 3 of 2012 to Quarter 3 of 2013 (captures arrivals onto Runway 06 and departures from Runway 24)
The key points shown are:
The noise levels at EMU 40 are generally low, due to it being aligned with the cross-runway (06-24) at Perth Airport which is used much less than the main runway.
The use of Runway 06/24 increased during Quarter 1 of 2013 which explains the increase in the noise event data for the same period.
This runway closed to all air traffic in August 2013 until further notice for repair.
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5 Complaints data Airservices manages complaints and enquiries about aircraft noise and operations through its Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS). Complaints, enquiries and requests for information about aircraft operations received by the NCIS are collected and stored in a database for the purpose of complaint management, analysis of issues and identification of causal factors. Each complaint, enquiry or request for information is referred to in this report as a contact and each person who makes contact with the NCIS is referred to as a client.
5.1 NCIS Clients by suburb The NCIS received contacts from 258 clients for Perth Airport and Jandakot Airport during Quarter 3 of 2013. Client density maps are used to show the number of clients from each suburb, with suburbs coloured according to how many clients had contacted the NCIS. The data does not include clients who may have contacted the respective airports directly. Table 1 provides a breakdown of clients for Quarter 3 of 2013 for each of the airports. Figure 22 shows client density with flight tracks overlaid for Perth Airport and Jandakot Airport for Quarter 3 of 2013. Figure 23 focuses on circuit training at Jandakot Airport, which is the main subject of complaints at the airport. It shows client density (for Quarter 3 of 2013) with circuit training tracks for a representative week overlaid.
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Table 1 Recorded clients by suburb and airport for Quarter 3 of 2013
Suburb Perth Airport Clients
Jandakot Airport Clients
Total
Not Specified 4 0 4 Applecross 1 0 1 Armadale 1 0 1 Ascot 0 1 1 Aveley 1 0 1 Balga 1 0 1 Banjup 4 0 4 Bassendean 4 0 4 Bateman 0 1 1 Bayswater 2 0 2 Beaconsfield 0 1 1 Beckenham 2 0 2 Bedfordale 4 1 5 Beechboro 6 0 6 Belmont 3 0 3 Bickley 1 0 1 Bull Creek 1 1 2 Bullsbrook 2 0 2 Byford 1 0 1 Camillo 1 0 1 Canning Vale 9 6 15 Cannington 2 0 2 Carmel 2 0 2 Carramar 1 0 1 Caversham 2 0 2 Chidlow 2 0 2 City Beach 1 0 1 Cloverdale 3 0 3 Como 3 0 3 Coolbinia 1 0 1 Craigie 0 1 1 Darling Downs 5 0 5 Darlington 1 0 1 Dianella 1 0 1 Duncraig 4 0 4 Ellenbrook 1 0 1 Ferndale 5 0 5 Forrestdale 1 0 1 Fremantle 0 1 1 Glen Forrest 3 0 3 Gosnells 2 0 2 Greenmount 3 0 3 Greenwood 1 0 1 Guildford 18 1 19 Helena Valley 5 0 5 Henley Brook 1 0 1 Herne Hill 1 0 1 High Wycombe 3 0 3
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Suburb Perth Airport Clients
Jandakot Airport Clients
Total
Hocking 1 0 1 Hovea 3 0 3 Innaloo 1 0 1 Jandakot 0 3 3 Jane Brooke 4 0 4 Jolimont 1 0 1 Kalamunda 3 0 3 Karrinyup 2 0 2 Kelmscott 2 0 2 Kingsley 1 0 1 Kwinana Beach 0 1 1 Landsdale 0 1 1 Langford 2 0 2 Leederville 2 0 2 Leeming 0 1 1 Lesmurdie 3 0 3 Lynwood 4 0 4 Manning 2 0 2 Marangaroo 2 0 2 Middle Swan 1 0 1 Millars Well 1 0 1 Morley 2 0 2 Mount Pleasant 1 0 1 Mount Richon 0 1 1 Mundaring 1 0 1 Nedlands 2 0 2 Nollamara 1 0 1 Oakford 2 0 2 Ocean Reef 1 0 1 Oldbury 0 1 1 Osborne Park 1 0 1 Padbury 1 0 1 Paulls Valley 1 0 1 Perth 4 0 4 Piara Waters 2 0 2 Pickering Brook 3 0 3 Port Kennedy 0 2 2 Queens Park 3 0 3 Riverton 3 0 3 Rivervale 1 1 2 Roleystone 11 0 11 Salter Point 3 0 3 Shelley 5 0 5 South Guildford 8 0 8 South Perth 2 0 2 Southlake 1 0 1 Stoneville 1 0 1 Success 1 1 2 Swan View 2 0 2 Thornlie 4 0 4
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Suburb Perth Airport Clients
Jandakot Airport Clients
Total
Warnbro 0 1 1 Waterford 1 0 1 Willetton 1 0 1 Wilson 3 0 3 Winthrop 1 0 1 Woodbridge 1 0 1 Wundowie 1 0 1 Yokine 0 1 1
Total 230 28 258
The key points shown by Table 1 are:
The NCIS received contacts from residents of 105 suburbs in the Perth basin during Quarter 3 of 2013 -
Of these, 85 suburbs were in relation to flights to and from Perth Airport and 20 suburbs for Jandakot Airport – 5 suburbs had complaints about flight relating to both airports.
75% of the suburbs in Table 1 had only 1 or 2 residents who contacted the NCIS.
Perth Airport Issues
Complaints for Perth Airport came from suburbs ranging in distance from 1km to 50km away from the airport.
Since Q3 2012, the number of residents contacting the NCIS has had varied ranging from 164 to 230. The number of suburbs represented has approximately doubled from 44 to 85.
Suburb with the highest number of clients are typically those located closest to the runways (e.g. Guildford, South Guildford, Shelley, Riverton) or those slightly further away which receive large numbers of both arriving and departing flights (e.g. Ferndale, Canning Vale).
Community feedback about the ‘Roleystone Trial’ (see Appendix 1) is included in Table 1. This feedback came from all over the Perth basin. The trial was announced by Airservices on 20 July 2013 with the trial commencing on 22 August.
Jandakot Airport Issues
Two of the consistently high complaint areas for Jandakot Airport (Canning Vale and Roleystone) are also impacted by arrivals to Perth Airport Runway 03 (southern end of the main runway). This is the Instrument approach (ILS) which is used by international flights at all times of the day and by all commercial flights during bad weather and at night i.e. at times the shorter visual approach is not available.
Most complaints at Jandakot Airport are about daytime operations.
Complaints about aerobatic flights operating out of Jandakot have proportionally fallen since Q3 2012 – 23% of complaints down to 7% in Q3 2013.
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Figure 22 Client density by suburb for Quarter 3 of 2013 with an overlay of tracks for sample period 2 September to 8 September 2013 for the Perth region
The key points shown by Figure 22 are:
Canning Vale, adjacent to the north-eastern corner of Jandakot Airport, is affected by arrivals to Perth’s Runway 03 as well as by Jandakot circuits.
The suburb with the highest number of clients, Guildford is located to the north of Perth Airport and is impacted by both arrivals to and departures from the main runway. As such, this area will continue to receive either all arrivals and departures to and from the northern end of the main runway until the cross runway is reopened after it is repaired.
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Figure 23 Client density by suburb for Quarter 3 of 2013, with an overlay of tracks for sample period 2 September to 8 September 2013 at Jandakot Airport
The key points shown by Figure 23 are:
Canning Vale is affected by both circuits and arrival/departures from Jandakot Airport.
Jandakot flights impact all parts of the Perth basin with a large number of flights operating in conjunction with the coastline
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5.2 Issues raised by NCIS clients Figure 24 shows the top six issues raised by clients in Perth for the 15 month period to the end of September 2013. A single contact can involve multiple issues (i.e. a client may have raised more than one issue when they contacted the NCIS). During the 15 month period, the top three issues raised were all related to Perth Airport and are: Jet Aircraft, Increased Frequency of Air Traffic and Aircraft Height. Figure 24 Top five issues for Perth Airport for the 15 month period, July 2012 to September 2013
15 Month Trend - Top 5 Issues
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Jet aircraft
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The key points shown by Figure 24 are that:
There is no clear trend in the number of clients raising issues.
Increased frequency of air traffic remains a high-level concern for many clients. Managing the impacts of aircraft noise is a key challenge for an industry that is forecasting ongoing high levels of growth.
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6 Airservices update
6.1 Improving Noise Outcomes Airservices has developed a process to investigate aircraft noise improvements across Australia. Working with the community and the aviation industry, Airservices will assess the benefits of noise improvement proposals and implement them if feasible. The process has been developed with the support of the Department of Infrastructure & Regional Development and the Aircraft Noise Ombudsman. A key objective is to work with communities to identify opportunities for noise improvements, particularly through Community Aviation Consultation Groups (CACGs) or similar airport consultation forums. Airservices will assess the potential safety, efficiency and environmental impacts of proposals. We will seek community views throughout this process to help inform decisions. Safety remains our top priority and any change must meet rigorous Air Traffic Control requirements. This means it may not be possible to implement some proposals. Airservices will only implement a new procedure or a trial after a comprehensive community engagement process, including consultation with community forums. We will discuss potential changes with the aviation industry and publish details of any changes to procedures or trials on its website.
6.2 Noise improvements implemented Appendix 1 provides details of noise improvements as outlined in previous reports that have been implemented in the Perth Basin and others that are in progress.
6.3 Noise improvement opportunities Increased use of north-west RAAF airspace In May 2013, Airservices permanently implemented an alternative departure procedure from Perth Airport that reduces the number of aircraft flying low over north-western suburbs during the night (see KEELS Trial in Appendix 1). Subject to further community consultation and environmental assessment, Airservices aims to expand the use of this procedure to all hours when RAAF Pearce airspace is not in use. This will continue to deliver improved noise outcomes for residents living in nearby suburbs including Beechboro, Malaga and Ballajura. Eastern departures to maintain 8,000 feet Noise Abatement Procedures at Perth allow aircraft to be taken off Standard Instrument Departure (SID) procedure tracking once jets are at 5,000 feet above ground level and non-jets 3,000 feet except where impractical in the normal course of operation to and from the runways. This provision is primarily in place to assist the efficient management of aircraft close to the airport during peak periods.
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In response to community concerns about the minimum height of aircraft over residential areas, Airservices is considering a three-month trial for all aircraft to maintain SID tracking to the east of Perth until leaving 8,000 feet except where required for operational reasons. Moving the converging point for eastern arrivals to Runway 03 Arriving aircraft from the east which are making an instrument approach to Runway 03 (long straight-in approach to the southern end of the main runway) currently converge at a point near Bedfordale. Airservices is considering moving this converging point some 8-10 km to the east which will reduce the number of aircraft impacting the Bedfordale area.
6.4 Community meetings At the Perth Airport Community Aviation Consultation Group (CACG) meeting held on 5 August 2013, Airservices outlined the community consultation program for the upcoming Roleystone trial (the trial subsequently commenced on 22 August) and gave an undertaking to provide updates at future CACG meetings until the trial process had concluded. At the Jandakot Airport CACG meeting held on 15 August 2013, Airservices noted the impact that some aerobatic and training flights were having for coastal areas in the vicinity of Rockingham. Airservices undertook to consider this issue further and report back to the November CACG on options (if any) to improve the noise impact of these flights.
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7 Contact us To lodge a complaint or make an enquiry about aircraft operations, you can:
go to WebTrak (www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/webtrak/) use our online form (www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/about-
making-a-complaint/) telephone 1800 802 584 (freecall) or 1300 302 240 (local call –Sydney) fax (02) 9556 6641 write to, Noise Complaints and Information Service, PO Box 211, Mascot
NSW 1460. Airservices welcomes comments about this report. Please contact us via e-mail at [email protected] if you would like to provide feedback.
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Appendix 1 Airservices update Alternative departure procedure at Perth Airport (KEELS trial) In May 2013, Airservices implemented an alternative departure procedure from Perth Airport that reduces the number of aircraft flying low over suburbs to the north west of Perth Airport during the night. The permanent implementation of this procedure follows a trial that started on 27 July 2011 and was known as the ‘Keels trial’. The new flight path allows additional aircraft to make use of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airspace when the area is not in use by Defence. It involves some aircraft that normally depart to the north of the airport and then turn towards the coast late at night. It does not apply to all aircraft departing to the north, or change any routes for flights departing to the south. Most of these aircraft (mostly heading to destinations in the Middle East and Africa) normally overfly Beechboro and suburbs to the west of Beechboro at between 2,500 and 4,000 feet (760-1,200m). The new flight path has some of these aircraft take a more northerly route and only turning after they reach 8,000 feet (2,400m). This additional height reduces the impact of aircraft noise on the ground. It also provides some night-time respite for residents in Beechboro and the suburbs to the west of Beechboro. Airservices will continue to monitor the impact of the permanent implementation of the departure procedure through noise complaints in order to identify any adverse impacts. Airservices Post Implementation Review of the trial is available at http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/publications/noise-reports/post-implimentation-reviews. Changed procedures for practising engine failures at Jandakot Airport On 9 July 2013, the procedure for pilots practising engine failures at Jandakot Airport was changed to ensure this occurs in airspace within the aerodrome boundaries and not over adjacent residential areas. Roleystone - Trial of modified Flight Path On 22 August 2013, Airservices commenced a trial of a modified flight path for aircraft arriving from the north to land on the southern end of the runway at Perth Airport. Airservices will trial this change for 12 months to cover normal seasonal variations. The flight path will be used more frequently in winter due to the prevailing wind direction. The flight path will move away from Bickley, Byford, Carmel, Martin and Roleystone and closer to Bickley East, Karragullen and Pickering Brook. Airservices will conduct noise monitoring in those general areas to determine if the noise impact is reasonable and will keep the community informed of the results. After 12 months the trial will be evaluated and a report published for community comment. The consultation process includes actively seeking and responding to community feedback to help inform future decisions. More information about the trial is available at http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/projects/trial-of-new-flight-path-roleystone-wa.
