Download Canberra Airport - Airservices Australia

Canberra Noise Information Pack
December 2011
Table of Contents
Purpose
2
Overview
2
Canberra Airport
3
Hours of Operation/Noise Abatement Areas
3
Runway Configuration
3
Air Traffic
3
Track density plot for all aircraft first quarter 2011
4
Typical tracks for different wind conditions
5
Community Engagement
7
Other Resources
7&8
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Disclaimer
The information contained in this document is for information purposes only. While Airservices Australia has taken reasonable
steps to ensure the accuracy of this information, Airservices Australia makes no warranty or representation that it is current,
accurate or complete.
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Purpose
The purpose of this document is to provide information to the community on aircraft operations
around Canberra.
Overview
Canberra Airport is situated approximately 7 kms to the east of the city.
The Canberra area is affected by aircraft noise either from helicopters, fixed wing propeller or jet
powered aircraft. Operations may occur at hospital helipads, Southcare Helicopter base (6.5km south
of the airport) or from Canberra Airport. Helicopters and light aircraft often follow regular scenic
routes via the Racecourse, Lake Ginninderra, Black Mountain or Coppins Crossing, Mount Taylor and
Mount Mugga.
There is a single environmental (noise) monitoring unit (EMU) located at Jerrabomberra, 9km south of
the airport, Figure 1.
Figure 1: Canberra Airport and location of Environmental Monitoring Unit at Jerrabomerra
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Canberra Airport
Hours of Operation/Noise Abatement Areas
Air Traffic Control (ATC) services are provided during the hours of 6:00am to 11:00pm.
There is no curfew at Canberra airport. However, a number of noise abatement procedures are used
to reduce the impact of aircraft operations on the community.
A noise abatement area applies to most areas of Canberra and Queanbeyan. Aircraft will normally be
routed to avoid the noise abatement area, which covers most of Gungahlin, North Canberra,
Belconnen, South Canberra, Woden, Tuggeranong and Queanbeyan, shown as two grey regions in
Figure 3.
Where it isn't practical for aircraft to remain clear of those areas, overflight of the noise abatement
area is restricted to altitudes of 7,000 feet (above mean sea level) by jet aircraft, and 5,000 feet
(above mean sea level) by propeller aircraft (over 5,700kg MTOW).
A number of exceptions apply to the noise
abatement areas such as aircraft emergencies,
medical priorities and to avoid hazardous
weather.
Runway Configuration
Canberra Airport has two runways, Figure 2. The
main runway 17/35 is used for the majority of
aircraft traffic. This runway also has a precision
navigation aid, an Instrument Landing System
(ILS), to enhance the safe operation of aircraft
landing from the south. There is no ILS for
aircraft arriving from the north. The shorter
runway is 12/30 and is used mainly by propeller
driven light aircraft.
For noise abatement purposes the preferred
direction of operation for aircraft using the main
runway during daylight hours (7:00am—8:00pm
local time) is in the 350o direction. However,
runway selection is determined by Air Traffic
Control (ATC) based on the wind and weather
conditions at the time of the operation. As the
wind changes, the duty runway direction may
change. This is because aircraft primarily take off
and land into the wind for safety and performance
reasons. This results in different areas around
the airport being over-flown by aircraft. This
includes helicopter operations where pilots
generally make their approach to or departure
from the helipad into the prevailing wind.
Air Traffic
During the 2010 calendar year Canberra had
68,252 movements. This includes jet aircraft and
general aviation traffic. Australia's VIP fleet is
based at Canberra, as well as several fixed-wing
and helicopter flying schools.
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Track density plot
Track density plots display the pattern of aircraft flight tracks passing over a region during a specific
period and are a good reference for areas often over flown by aircraft. They show the most-used
flight corridors, however this does not mean that aircraft do not fly over other areas of Canberra.
Figure 3 shows the quarterly track density plot for all aircraft operations for the period January—
March 2011.
The colour coding from green to red represents the range of 2 overflights per day to 20 or more per
day over the three month period. As noted above, the absence of a coloured track over any given
area does not necessarily mean that aircraft have not flown over that area. Rather, it means that on
average less than 2 flights per day have flown over that area during the period.
Source:
Figure 3: Track density plot of all aircraft, Jan—March 2011
First quarter 2011, Noise and Flight Path Monitoring System Report - Canberra Quarterly
Report Jan—March 2011
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Typical tracks for different wind conditions
The next two figures illustrate typical aircraft tracks in specific wind conditions. In Figure 4 the wind
is a northerly (blowing from the north to the south) and in Figure 5 the wind is southerly (blowing
from the south to the north).
Typical tracks for northerly wind conditions
Figure 4: Typical tracks in northerly wind conditions—24 hours of aircraft movements, 6 January
2011
Source: Airport Noise and Operations Management System (ANOMS)
5
Typical tracks for southerly wind conditions
Figure 5: Typical tracks in southerly wind conditions—24 hours aircraft movements, 25 March, 2011
Source: Airport Noise and Operations Management System (ANOMS)
6
Community Engagement
The Canberra Airport Community Aviation Consultation Group (CACG) is the forum for community
engagement with airport management and other aviation industry stakeholders and was established in
accordance with the initiative identified in the Federal Government’s Aviation White Paper 2009.
The purpose of the CACG is to ensure community views are heard by the airport and to provide
members of the community with an opportunity to obtain information about airport operations.
The CACG provides a forum to discuss a range of airport matters including aviation and non-aviation
developments and planning or regulatory changes.
The Canberra Airport CACG is run by an independent chair.
Meetings are held three times a year with details published by the Airport.
Airservices attends CACG meetings and representatives provide regular reports to the group.
Other Resources
Noise and Flight Path Monitoring System
The Canberra Airport component of the Noise and Flight Path Monitoring System (NFPMS) has one
permanently installed Environmental Monitoring Unit collecting noise data at Jerrabomberra. In
addition to the permanent monitoring unit, there are portable units which may be connected to the
system for measuring aircraft noise data at temporary locations from time to time. The monitoring
locations are regularly reviewed for their suitability in addressing the impact of aircraft noise on the
local community. The reviews consider suggestions for future monitoring locations from the Canberra
Airport Community Aviation Consultation Group (CACG).
Airservices publishes reports from the NFPMS on a quarterly basis on its website at
http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/publications/reports-and-statistics/noise-reports/
WebTrak
Airservices provides an internet service called WebTrak which enables aircraft movements to be
observed in near real time (there is a delay of 40 minutes) at eight airports around Australia including
Canberra Airport. Information is available for the past 3 months. WebTrak provides information about
individual aircraft such as aircraft type, altitude, destination and noise levels, and presents this
information on a map. WebTrak is available on the Airservices Australia website at:
http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aviationenvironment/noise/webtrak/
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Canberra Airport’s Website
The airport’s website contains information about the current activities at the airport including; Noise
Maps, Community Aviation Consultation Group, and details of the airport’s Master Plan
http://www.canberraairport.com.au/
Department of Infrastructure and Transport Website
Information on aircraft noise regulations, airports curfews, insulation programs, fact sheets and
aviation’s role in reducing carbon emissions is available from this website. This site also has a link to
the Federal Government’s Aviation White Paper, which details the Government’s aviation policy.
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/
Civil Aviation Safety Authority website
This site provides information on aircraft airworthiness and certification, airspace regulation and
issues of aviation safety (for example the rules concerning low flying aircraft).
http://www.casa.gov.au/
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