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The federal government is moving to overhaul the “out-dated” list of aircraft permitted to takeoff and land during curfew hours at Sydney and Adelaide airports.
Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss says removing older, noisier business jets from the list will encourage operators to update their fleets.
The list of permitted aircraft at Sydney Airport in curfew hours was last updated in 2005, while Adelaide Airport’s list was last changed in 2000, Truss said.
“Certainly it is time for an overhaul,” Truss told delegates at Airservices’ annual Waypoint conference in Canberra on Thursday.
“The latest model quieter business jets cannot land during the curfew – but old noisier aircraft can.
“This is a modest and sensible change that will benefit industry, but also produce better noise outcomes for residents.”
The curfew at Adelaide and Sydney airports prohibit aircraft movements, with certain exemptions, between 11pm and 6am. In addition, Sydney Airport has a cap of 80 aircraft movements an hour during its hours of operation.
Truss said the government was committed to keeping the curfew at both airports and the hourly cap at Sydney.
Moreover, any aircraft that operated during curfew hours had to take off or land over the ocean at Sydney Airport and over the Gulf of St Vincent in the case of Adelaide Airport unless it was unsafe to do so, Truss said.
Public submissions on the proposed update to the list can be made on the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development’s website and were due by October 31 2014.
The list of aircraft exempt from the Sydney Airport curfew can be found here. Adelaide Airport’s list is here.
