Developed following “extensive consultation with community and industry throughout July and August 2025”, Airservices says the new plan will reduce noise impacts from the airport for around 140,000 people.
Delays stretched from 30 minutes to an hour as at 9am on Sunday, though Airservices said the issues, caused by "short notice unplanned leave", were resolved by 11:30am. Civil Air, however, said it “emphatically rejects” the claims around leave.
Defence convened a Projects of Concern Summit in Canberra to discuss the CMATS project on 11 June.
The air navigation service provider last year increased fees for air traffic control (ATC) and aviation rescue firefighting (ARFF) services by 6 per cent, its first rise in 10 years, with chief executive Rob Sharp telling Senate Estimates that Airservices lost $237 million last year and revenue was down 24 per cent.
The firm has been selected to replace older analogue equipment at airports and air traffic control facilities in the US with its digital CERTIUM Voice Communication System (VCS) as part of the FAA’s Brand-New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS) initiative.
The F-AMTS program, backed by Phase 3 of Project AIR5428, seeks to enhance the training technology used by RAAF members to improve air traffic control management strategies and skills by crew.