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Melbourne Basin Aircraft Noise Information Report Quarter 2 2013 (April to June)

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Version Control

Version Number Detail Prepared by Date

1 - Environment Sept 2013

© 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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Melbourne Basin - Aircraft Noise Information Report Contents

1 PURPOSE 4

1.1 Melbourne Airport 4

1.2 Essendon Airport 4

1.3 Moorabbin Airport 4

1.4 Avalon Airport 4

1.5 Aircraft noise monitoring in Melbourne 5

2 FLIGHT PATTERNS 8

2.1 Jet aircraft 8

2.2 Non jet aircraft 11

2.3 Track density plots 13

3 AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS 15

3.1 Melbourne Airport 15

3.2 Essendon Airport 21

3.3 Moorabbin Airport 24

4 NOISE MONITORING 26

5 COMPLAINTS DATA 36

5.1 NCIS Clients by suburb 36

5.2 Issues raised by NCIS clients 42

6 CONTACT US 43

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1 Purpose This report summarises data for Quarter 2 of 2013 (April to June) from Airservices Noise and Flight Path Monitoring System (NFPMS) and Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS) for the Melbourne basin (including Melbourne, Essendon, Moorabbin and Avalon airports) as well as some other sources (such as the Airservices Flight Charging System).

1.1 Melbourne Airport Melbourne Airport is located around 20km north east of the central business district. It is bounded by residential areas to the east, south and west. To the north of the airport is the township of Bulla. The majority of operations at Melbourne Airport are international and domestic regular passenger services, mostly medium to large jets. During Quarter 2 of 2013 there were over 53,000 operations at Melbourne Airport. More information about Melbourne Airport is available from the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/.

1.2 Essendon Airport Essendon Airport is located between the city centre and Melbourne Airport, approximately 11km north west of the central business district. It is surrounded by residential developments. The majority of operations involve smaller general aviation which includes corporate jets and emergency helicopters. Circuit training is not conducted at Essendon Airport. A legislated curfew at Essendon Airport limits operations between 11.00pm and 6.00am. During Quarter 2 of 2013 there were over 11,000 operations at Essendon Airport. More information about Essendon Airport is available from the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/.

1.3 Moorabbin Airport Moorabbin Airport is located a little over 20km south east of the central business district. It is bounded by residential areas on all sides. The majority of operations at Moorabbin Airport are smaller general aviation aircraft. Pilot training is conducted at Moorabbin Airport which involves a significant number of circuit operations. Information about circuit training is available on the Airservices website at http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/wp-content/uploads/12-039FAC_NCIS-Circuit-training_WEB.pdf and more information about Moorabbin Airport is available from the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/.

1.4 Avalon Airport Avalon Airport is located 50 km south-west of the central business district. It is on the eastern edge of the city of Geelong. Residential areas are to the west of the Airport. To the south is Geelong Harbour. The majority of operations are Regular Passenger Transport (RPT) involving a mixture of narrow body and wide body jet aircraft.

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1.5 Aircraft noise monitoring in Melbourne Airservices NFPMS captures and stores radar, flight plan and noise data. The NFPMS covers eight city regions around Australia. For the Melbourne region, noise data is captured by seven noise monitors - also known as Environmental Monitoring Units (EMUs) - located around Melbourne Airport at: Bulla, Keilor East, Essendon, Coolaroo, Thomastown, Keilor Village and Diggers Rest. Figure 1 Location of Melbourne, Essendon, Avalon and Moorabbin airports. (Noise monitoring sites are shown as red dots). The location of RAAF Point Cook airfield is also shown.

Moorabbin Airport

Melbourne Airport

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Figure 1 shows runway configurations at Melbourne, Essendon, Moorabbin and Avalon airports. The main runway at Melbourne Airport, 16/34 is 3.7 km long, orientated north-south. There is a smaller 2.3 km long cross runway, 09/27, orientated east-west. At Essendon Airport there are two intersecting runways, a 1.6 km north-south runway 17/35 and a 1.9 km east-west runway 08/26.

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Moorabbin Airport has 2 parallel runways aligned north-south (35L-17R and 35R-17L) and another set of 2 parallel runways orientated north-east to south-west (31L-13R and 31R-13L). These are of a similar length, 0.8-0.9 km. There is a fifth runway which is shorter (0.5km), aligned south east to north west (04-22). Avalon Airport has a single runway of length 3.0 km aligned north-south (18-36). Information about runway selection is available on the Airservices website at www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/factsheets/.

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2 Flight patterns

2.1 Jet aircraft Figure 2 and Figure 3 show jet aircraft track plots for arrivals and departures for the Melbourne basin for the month of May 2013, coloured according to height (in feet). Noise monitors are shown as grey circles. Stars indicate the location of private airfields. The period shown has been limited to one month so that the patterns of aircraft movements can be distinguished. Figure 2 Jet arrivals for the Melbourne basin, May 2013 (one month)

Key points shown by Figure 2 are:

The vast the majority of jet traffic occurs at Melbourne Airport. These are mostly RPT operations involving medium to large jets.

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A small number of wide and large body jets also operate out of Avalon Airport.

A small number of business and corporate jets operate out of Essendon Airport and Moorabbin Airport.

Jet arrivals are generally aligned with the runways at least 10km from the airport. For Melbourne Airport, suburbs in line with the runways up to about 15km are overflown by jet arrivals. However for Avalon Airport the majority of jet arrivals occur either over rural areas or the bay.

Arrivals into Melbourne Airport are spread mainly between from the east, south and north.

Figure 3 Jet departures for the Melbourne basin, May 2013 (one month)

Key points shown by Figure 3 are:

Jet departures reach a higher altitude closer to the airport than arrivals and also deviate from runway alignment slightly closer to the airport, around 10km from runway end. However, jets taking off need to maintain high levels of power (thrust) to maintain their climb, which is why noise from departing jets is often louder than

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noise from arriving jets at the same altitude, even though they overfly nearby suburbs at a greater height.

Jet departures at Melbourne Airport are mainly to the north and west.

Jet departures heading to the south from Melbourne Airport originated from the cross runway in the 27 direction.

Jet departures at Avalon Airport are mainly to the south and to the north-east. These are the least populated areas around the airport.

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2.2 Non jet aircraft Figure 4 shows non jet tracks (arrivals and departures) in the Melbourne basin for the month of May 2013. Noise monitors are shown as grey circles. The period shown has been limited to one month so that the patterns of aircraft movements can be distinguished. Figure 4 Non jet arrivals and departures for the Melbourne region, May 2013 (one month)

Key points shown by Figure 4 are:

It is clear that although jet aircraft tend to operate along defined paths, when smaller aircraft are included on the map, there are very few areas of the Melbourne basin that are not overflown by aircraft at some stage. The circuit pattern (training aircraft) at Moorabbin Airport and Point Cook are visible as red/ orange rings, indicating that aircraft are generally maintaining a height of around 1000ft (in line with Civil Aviation Safety Authority height requirements for circuit operations).

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Melbourne Airport

Moorabbin Airport

Lilydale Airport

RAAF Point Cook

Avalon Airport

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The circuit operations at Lilydale Airport (40 km east of the CBD) are also visible, indicating that aircraft are generally maintaining a height of around 1000ft (in line with Civil Aviation Safety Authority height requirements for circuit operations).

Although it is not evident (too many tracks) propeller aircraft operating out of Melbourne Airport are providing regular passenger transport services and follow similar flight paths as those for jets; the majority of arrivals are from the east and south, departures are to the west and north.

Propeller aircraft out of Melbourne Airport generally operate at a higher altitude (above 5000 ft) than those for other airports.

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2.3 Track density plots The track plots above show that residents living up to 15km from the airports and in line with Melbourne Airport’s runways are regularly overflown by jet aircraft below 5000ft. However, beyond this the regularity of flight path use is not discernible from the track plot display. A track density plot can be useful in showing the underlying track patterns. A track density plot is a map which displays the pattern of aircraft flight tracks passing over the region around the airport. The region is divided into a set of small grid elements and the number of flights passing over each grid element is summed. Each grid element is coloured according to the number of overflights. Figure 5 shows a track density plot for all movements over the Melbourne Basin for Quarter 2 of 2013. The grid size adopted is 200m x 200m. The colour coding from green to red represents the range two flight tracks per day to 20 (182 to 1820 flight tracks for the quarter). If any grid element is not colour coded, the number of aircraft flight tracks passing over that element during the quarter was less than 2 per day on average. The absence of a colour for a grid element does not mean the grid element is free of aircraft overflights. The grey circles show the location of each noise monitor (EMU).

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Figure 5 Track density plot for the Melbourne region, Quarter 2 of 2013

Key points shown by Figure 5 are:

Flights in and out of Melbourne Airport are generally aligned with the runways. Suburbs to the south, east and west of the airport are regularly overflown by aircraft.

The location of noise monitors aligns well with operations out of Melbourne Airport.

Operations out of Essendon are concentrated to the south-east of the airport, which includes the CBD. These aircraft are mostly smaller general aviation aircraft.

There are no circuit operations at Essendon Airport.

Operations out of Moorabbin Airport are either training or aircraft en route to the northern and eastern edges of the bay. There are five distinct flight paths into and out of Moorabbin Airport.

The remote training area for Moorabbin Airport based aircraft is also visible approximately 10km south of the airport.

Operations at Point Cook are mainly training operations conducting circuit operations. Circuit operations are also clearly visible at Lilydale Airport, to the top right of the map. Operations at this airport involve smaller general aviation aircraft.

Moorabbin Airport

Lilydale Airport

Melbourne Airport

RAAF Point Cook Airport

Essendon Airport

Avalon Airport

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3 Aircraft movements

3.1 Melbourne Airport Aircraft movements at Melbourne Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 6 Aircraft movements at Melbourne Airport from April 2012 to June 2013

Key points are:

Jet movements have remained between 14,000 and 18,000 per month over the last 15 months.

The slight dip that occurred in February 2013 was due to this month being short and fewer people travelling for leisure reasons so soon after the end of the summer holiday period.

Propeller aircraft usage has remained constant, at 2000 per month.

Helicopter movements are less than 0.1% of the overall movement numbers.

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Figure 7, Figure 8 and Figure 9 show runway usage for arrivals and departures at Melbourne Airport for the 15 month period up to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 10 and Figure 11 show runway usage over a four year period for the two busiest runways at the airport. 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. Figure 7 Runway usage (All) at Melbourne Airport from April 2012 to June 2013

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Figure 8 Runway usage (Arrivals) at Melbourne Airport from April 2012 to June 2013

Figure 9 Runway usage (Departures) at Melbourne Airport from April 2012 to June 2013

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Figure 10 Runway 16 usage at Melbourne Airport 2010 to 2013

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Figure 11 Runway 27 usage at Melbourne Airport 2010 to 2013

Key points shown by Figure 7 to Figure 11 are:

Use of Runway 16 is heaviest during the November to March period. Use of Runway 27 is greater during the July to October period. This reflects prevailing winds at Melbourne Airport, which are from the south in the summer and from the north during winter and spring.

Runway works on the cross runway (09-27) explains the dip in the 2011 line for those months.

Figure 12 (below) shows aircraft movements at Melbourne Airport at night (11.00pm to 6.00am), by runway. There is no curfew at Melbourne Airport, however noise abatement procedures are used to reduce the impact of aircraft operations on residential areas at night. From 11.00pm to 6.00am, when wind and traffic conditions permit, aircraft depart off Runway 27 and arrive on Runway 16.

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Figure 12 Night movements Melbourne Airport (11.00pm to 6.00am) by Runway April 2012 to June 2013

The key points shown by Figure 12 are:

Over the 15 months January 2012 to March 2013, the use of the night-time preferred runway mode (arrivals on to 16 and departures off 27) is lower than the non-preferred runway use. (Prevailing wind conditions sometimes limit the use of the preferred runway mode.)

Between October 2012 and March 2013, the night-time preferred runway mode (arrivals to Runway 16 and departures from Runway 27) was used most in all months except December 2012 and March 2013.

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3.2 Essendon Airport Figure 13 shows aircraft movements at Essendon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 13 Aircraft movements to Essendon Airport to Quarter 2 of 2013

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Key points shown by Figure 13

Although the majority of operations at Essendon Airport are general aviation aircraft there are no circuits conducted at the Airport.

Movement numbers at Essendon Airport are relatively constant between 4,000 and 5,000 per month

Essendon Airport has a curfew, which restricts operations between 11.00pm and 6.00am to provide noise relief for residents near the airport. The details of restrictions at Essendon Airport can be found in the Air Navigation (Essendon Airport) Regulations 2001. This does not mean that all operations at the airport cease during these hours. In line with the Regulations some types of movements are permitted. More detail on curfew restrictions is available on the website of the Department for Infrastructure and Transport at http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/aviation/environmental/curfews/EssendonAirport/index.aspx

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Figure 14 shows curfew movements by category at Essendon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 15 shows the runways used during the curfew movements at Essendon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 14 Essendon Curfew movements (11.00pm to 6.00am) for April 2012 to June 2013 by curfew category

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Key points shown by Figure 14 are:

On average, there are around four movements per night during curfew hours.

While movements of approved aircraft types make up the majority of these movements, a significant proportion of movements are involved in emergency operations (eg. police or air ambulance).

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Figure 15 Runway usage for curfew movements (11.00pm to 06.00am) at Essendon Airport April 2012 to June 2013

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Key points shown by Figure 15 are:

Police and emergency services primarily use helicopters. These are based towards the northern end of the main runway.

During the curfew the cross runway (08-26) is used as much as the main runway (17-35)

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3.3 Moorabbin Airport Figure 16 shows aircraft movements at Moorabbin Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 16 Aircraft movements to Moorabbin Airport to Quarter 2 of 2013

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The key points shown by Figure 16 are:

Circuit operations constitute 30 per cent of all operations at Moorabbin Airport.

There was a slight spike in movements in March and April because tertiary students start their courses in February but don’t start flying until March.

There was a slight dip in movements in December 2012/ January 2013, due to courses being over for the year and another slight dip in June 2012, due to poor weather.

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3.4 Avalon Airport Figure 17 shows aircraft movements at Avalon Airport for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 17 Aircraft movements to Avalon Airport to Quarter 2 of 2013

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The key point shown by Figure 17

Some circuit operations are conducted at Avalon Airport.

The movement numbers at Avalon are approximately 450 movements per month (which is 10 per cent of the number operating at Essendon Airport).

The small spike in circuit numbers in June 2012 was due to a jet doing circuits several times a day for three weeks during the month.

The spike in February 2013 was due to flying displays associated with the Avalon Air Show.

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4 Noise monitoring Airservices collects noise and operational data from noise monitors (EMUs) around Melbourne 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). The sound levels in a nightclub often exceed 90dB(A). Figure 18 to Figure 31 show data from the Melbourne EMUs for the last fifteen months (see Figure 1 for the location of EMUs). The terms used within each of these figures are: LAeq 24hr: The continuous equivalent noise level over a 24 hour period, including noise from aircraft and the wider environment. LAeq night: The continuous equivalent noise level over the night time period (hours of 11:00pm to 6:00am) Background L90dB(A) (L90): The sound level that is exceeded 90% of the time over a 24 hour period – effectively removing noise from instantaneous events such as passing aircraft to provide a background level. 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.

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Figure 18 Average daily noise events at EMU 2 (Bulla) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 16 and departures from Melbourne Runway 34)

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Figure 19 Average noise levels at EMU 2 from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013

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The key points shown by Figure 18 to Figure 19 are:

The monitor at Bulla detects significantly more events than at any other Melbourne EMU location.

The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 2 reflects the seasonal trends for arrivals to Runway 16, with more events recorded in summer than in winter.

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Figure 20 Average daily noise events at EMU 3 (Keilor East) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures arrivals onto Melbourne Runway 34).

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Figure 21 Average noise levels at EMU 3 from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013

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The key points shown by Figure 20 to Figure 21 are:

The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 3 reflects the seasonal trend for arrivals to Runway 34, with more events recorded in winter than in summer.

EMU 2 is generally quieter than the Bulla monitor (lower LAeq).

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Figure 22 Average daily noise events at EMU 4 (Essendon) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 34 and arrivals to Essendon Runway 35 and departures off Essendon Runway 17)

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Figure 23 Average noise levels at EMU 4 from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013

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The key point shown by Figure 22 and Figure 23 is:

The reduced use of Runway 34 at Melbourne during Q4 2012 and Q1 2013 resulted in a reduction of noise events at EMU 4 during this period. However this is offset by the use of Runway 17 at Essendon during the same period.

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Figure 24 Average daily noise events at EMU 6 (Coolaroo) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 27)

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Figure 25 Average noise levels at EMU 6 from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013

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The key point shown by Figure 24 and Figure 25 is:

The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 6 reflects the seasonal trend for arrivals to Runway 27.

The lack of correlation with the trend of Runway 27 use is understandable as there are some parts of the year when the use of Runway 27 is biased towards departures. Departures off 27 do not overfly EMU 6.

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In previous reports, a spike occurred in the daily average LAeq(24hr) values in Q3 2012. This was attributed to maintenance performed on the EMU on the 19th September 2012. This event has been excluded returning the daily average LAeq(24hr) level to 60.5 dB(A) in Q3 2012.

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Figure 26 Average daily noise events at EMU 60 (Keilor Village) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 34 and departures from Melbourne Runway 16)

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Figure 27 Average noise levels at EMU 60 from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013

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The key points shown by Figure 26 to Figure 27 are:

Although arrivals onto Runway 34 fly close to EMU 60 it is more sensitive to departures off Runway 16.

The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 60 reflects the seasonal trend for departures off Runway 16, with more events recorded in summer than in summer.

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Figure 28 Average daily noise events at EMU 61 (Thomastown) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (captures arrivals to Melbourne Runway 27)

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Figure 29 Average noise levels at EMU 61 from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013

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The key points shown by Figure 28 to Figure 29 are:

EMU 61 Experienced intermittent outages in Q2 2012 (between 10 to 25 June 2012) due to a hardware failure. This may have contributed to the spike in average noise levels during this period.

34

EMU 61 also had a hardware issue between15–20 February 2013. No noise events were recorded during this time. This had little effect on the overall statistics for this site which returned to normal after this outage.

The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded by EMU 61 reflects the seasonal trend for arrivals to Runway 27, with more events recorded in winter than in summer. As a result the trends for this mirror those for EMU 6.

Figure 30 Average daily noise events at EMU 64 (Diggers Rest) from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013 (departures from Runway 27)

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Figure 31 Average noise levels at EMU 64 from Quarter 2 of 2012 to Quarter 2 of 2013

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35

The key points shown by Figure 30 to Figure 31 are:

This monitor is located several kilometres east of the main flight path. The noise captured by this monitor is dependent on where aircraft destined for airports north of Melbourne begin their turn to the north. This depends on wind and weather conditions which vary throughout the year.

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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 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 192 clients from Melbourne, Moorabbin, Essendon and Avalon Airport during Quarter 2 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 during the quarter. The data does not include clients who contacted other organisations (eg. airports). Some clients lodged complaints for more than one airport. Table 1 provides a breakdown of clients for each airport within the Melbourne basin for the period April to June 2013. Figure 32 shows client density for the Melbourne basin with flight tracks overlaid for Melbourne, Moorabbin, Essendon and Avalon Airport for Quarter 2 of 2013. Figure 33 shows the client density map zoomed in for Melbourne and Essendon airports and Figure 34 show the corresponding map for Moorabbin Airport.

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Table 1 Recorded Clients April to June 2013 by Suburb and Airport

Suburb Melbourne Avalon Essendon Moorabbin Total

Aberfeldie 0 0 1 1 2

Airport West 1 0 0 0 1

Albion 2 0 0 0 2

Altona Meadows 0 0 1 0 1

Altona North 1 0 0 0 1

Ardeer 3 0 0 0 3

Ascot Vale 1 0 1 0 2

Aspendale 0 0 0 1 1

Aspendale Gardens 0 0 0 1 1

Attwood 1 0 0 0 1

Avondale Heights 1 0 0 0 1

Bacchus Marsh 1 0 0 0 1

Balaclava 0 0 0 1 1

Beaconsfield Upper 0 0 0 1 1

Boronia 1 0 0 0 1

Broadmeadows 5 0 0 0 5

Brunswick 0 0 1 0 1

Bulla 1 0 0 0 1

Burwood 1 0 0 0 1

Carlton 1 0 0 0 1

Carrum Downs 0 0 0 1 1

Cheltenham 0 0 0 4 4

Clayton South 0 0 0 2 2

Coburg 1 0 0 0 1

Craigieburn 1 0 0 0 1

Cremorne 1 0 1 1 3

Dallas 1 0 0 0 1

Dandenong 1 0 0 0 1

Dingley Village 0 0 0 6 6

Doncaster East 2 0 1 0 3

Donvale 1 0 0 0 1

East Melbourne 4 0 3 1 8

Epping 1 0 0 0 1

Essendon 0 0 3 0 3

Essendon North 1 0 1 0 2

Footscray 1 0 0 0 1

Gladstone Park 1 0 0 0 1

Greenvale 2 0 0 0 2

Hampton 1 0 0 0 1

Hawthorn 2 0 0 0 2

Hoppers Crossing 1 0 0 0 1

Keilor 16 0 0 0 16

Keilor Downs 1 0 0 0 1

Keilor East 1 0 0 0 1

Keilor Park 1 0 0 0 1

Kingsville 1 0 0 1 2

Lancefield 1 0 0 0 1

Little River 0 1 0 0 1

Melbourne 16 0 0 1 17

Mentone 0 0 0 9 9

Mickleham 1 0 0 0 1

Mitcham 2 0 0 0 2

Moorabbin 0 0 0 8 8

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Suburb Melbourne Avalon Essendon Moorabbin Total

Mordialloc 1 0 0 1 2

Morrabbin 0 0 0 2 2

Mount Eliza 0 0 0 1 1

Mount Rowan 1 0 0 0 1

Newport 1 0 0 0 1

Niddrie 1 0 0 0 1

North Melbourne 1 0 0 0 1

Not Specified 0 0 0 1 1

Parkdale 0 0 0 1 1

Pascoe Vale 0 0 1 0 1

Pascoe Vale South 0 0 3 0 3

Port Melbourne 1 0 0 0 1

Prahran 1 0 1 1 3

Reservoir 1 0 1 0 2

Richmond 2 0 1 0 3

Smiths Gully 1 0 0 0 1

South Kingsville 1 0 0 0 1

South Melbourne 2 0 1 0 3

St Albans 4 0 0 0 4

Strathmore 2 0 4 0 6

Sunbury 1 0 0 0 1

Sunshine 2 0 0 0 2

Sydenham 0 1 0 0 1

Taylors Hill 1 0 0 0 1

Thomastown 2 0 0 0 2

Tullamarine 2 0 0 0 2

Wallington 0 1 0 0 1

West Footscray 2 0 1 0 3

Williamstown North 1 0 0 0 1

Windsor 0 0 0 1 1

Yarraville 3 0 0 0 3

Total 116 3 26 47 192

The key points shown by Table 1 are:

Melbourne Airport has the greatest number of clients followed by Essendon and Moorabbin airports.

The highest number of clients is from Melbourne itself (17 clients with concerns about operations at Melbourne Airport) followed by the suburb of Keilor (16 clients with concerns about operations at Melbourne Airport)

12 suburbs have clients with concerns about two airports and three suburbs have clients with concerns about three airports.

Six individual operations were the subject of complaints from four or more clients -either night time movements (between 11.00pm and 6.00am) or departures from Runway 16.

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Figure 32 Client density by suburb for Quarter 2 of 2013 with an overlay of tracks for sample period 2 to 8 June 2013 at Melbourne Airport, Essendon Airport, Moorabbin Airport and Avalon Airport

The key points shown by Figure 32 are:

The majority of complaints about aircraft noise in the Melbourne Basin are associated with movements at Melbourne Airport, Essendon Airport and Moorabbin Airport.

The few complaints associated with Avalon Airport are from residents who live under the approach flight path to Runway 36.

Arrivals

Departures

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Figure 33 Client density by suburb for Quarter 2 of 2013 with an overlay of tracks for sample period 2 to 8 June 2013 at Melbourne, Essendon, Moorabbin and Avalon Airports (zoomed in on Melbourne and Essendon Airports)

The key points shown in Figure 33 are:

Most of the complaints associated with Melbourne Airport are from suburbs to the south of the airport, which are subject to both arrivals to Runway 34 and departures from Runway 16.

Many of the complaints for Essendon Airport were to do with helicopter operations. These were from across the area, and not focussed on one or two suburbs.

Complaints received from Strathmore were generally to do with arrivals to Essendon Airport Runway 26, while complaints from Essendon North were associated with low flying jets. This suburb is under the flight path for arrivals and departures at Essendon Airport.

Arrivals

Departures

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Figure 34 Client density by suburb for Quarter 2 of 2013 with an overlay of tracks for sample period 2 to 8 June 2013 at Melbourne, Essendon, Moorabbin and Avalon Airports (zoomed in on Moorabbin Airport)

The key points shown by Figure 34 are:

Dingley Village is subject to noise from circuit training. The complaints from this suburb were about both propeller aircraft and helicopters.

The other suburbs with more than one client for Moorabbin Airport experience aircraft noise from a combination of circuits, arrivals and departures.

Arrivals

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Local operations including circuits

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5.2 Issues raised by NCIS clients Figure 35 shows the top five issues raised by clients within the Melbourne basin for the 15 month period to the end of Quarter 2 of 2013. A single contact can involve multiple issues (ie. a client may have raised more than one issue when they contacted the NCIS). During Quarter 2 of 2013, the issues raised by the greatest number of clients were: Jet Aircraft, Increased Frequency of Air Traffic, Aircraft Height, Runway 16 Departure and Runway 34 Arrivals. Figure 35 Top five issues for Melbourne Airport for the 15 month period, April 2012 to June 2013

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The key points shown by Figure 35 are:

Client numbers for Melbourne Airport tend to track seasonal patterns for the use of Runway 16 for departures. Complaints from the suburb of Keilor follow the same pattern.

There are more movements on Runway 16 during the summer and correspondingly more complaints.

The spike in Quarter 4 of 2012 may have been due to increased media and public awareness of a proposal for a third runway for Melbourne Airport.

There was an increase in client numbers for Moorabbin Airport in Quarter 1 of 2013 although there was a slight decrease in movements during the quarter). This may have been due to more people being outside during the summer and therefore noticing aircraft noise more than usual.

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6 Improving noise outcomes A key Airservices objective is being actively involved in airport community forums such as the Community Aviation Consultation Groups (CACGs) and, through these forums, seeking community input into potential noise improvements. This means looking for, finding, and where feasible, implementing change. Airservices wants active consideration of, and consultation on, proposals or ideas and seeking input from the CACG is a very important part of this process.

A ‘noise-initiated change process’ has been drafted to guide this objective and Airservices sought input and support from the Department of Infrastructure and Transport and the Aircraft Noise Ombudsman in the development of this. This is a process for change driven by improving noise outcomes and allows for early identification of feasibility. If a proposal is considered as likely to result in an improved noise outcome, it will then enter the complete change process for implementation.

The Airservices noise initiated change process:

1. Identified change opportunity solely for improved noise outcome

(CACG/community, Airservices, airports, industry, issues/complaints analysis)

2. Airservices will undertake an initial high level assessment that includes potential noise impacts. This will be provided to the CACG for initial feedback before progressing further

3. An Air Traffic Control feasibility assessment will then be undertaken and options considered (includes safety and efficiency)

4. Industry consultation as required 5. Updates to CACG on status of the suggestion including proposed/likely

timelines and next steps if it is deemed feasible to explore further 6. Change process undertaken, which includes an environmental assessment 7. Airservices to keep CACG informed of the progress

While there is a focus on exploring noise improvement opportunities, making or implementing change is difficult and often improvement suggested by some community members may mean that there is a detrimental impact on another area. However, Airservices will continue to look for opportunities and further engage with the community as these opportunities are considered. The CACG, and seeking feedback early in the process, is central to improving noise outcomes.

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 or

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 community.relations@airservicesaustralia.com if you would like to provide feedback.