Flight paths for the new multi-billion dollar Western Sydney Airport set to open in 2026 have been released, sparking fears some areas will be impacted far more than others.
The $5.3 billion Western Sydney International Airport in Badgerys Creek, 45km from the CBD, will be the first in New South Wales with no curfew, with flights taking off and landing 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
There are fears that this will heavily impact people living in Sydney’s west.
While resident’s in the city’s inner-west and eastern suburbs already experience a lot of flight noise from the Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport in the city’s south, it has a curfew in place between 11pm and 6am.
The proposed flight paths for the new airport, along with estimated aircraft noise impacts, became available on Tuesday for surrounding communities through an online interactive Aircraft Overflight Noise Tool.
The tool allows people to type in their address to get a clear picture of the preliminary flight paths, including the expected altitude at that location, daily aircraft numbers and the predicted aircraft noise.
The $5.3 billion Western Sydney International Airport in Badgerys Creek, 45km from the CBD, will be the first in New South Wales with no curfew, with flights taking off and landing 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Wind conditions will ultimately determine which of the two main runway directions – known as Runway 05 and Runway 23 – will be used through the day and night.
When Runway 05 is used, all aircraft will arrive from the south-west and depart to the north-east, while Runway 23 will see all planes arriving from the north-east and departing to the south-west.
A third runway direction, which can be used at night when air traffic demand is lower, is designed to minimise the impact of noise on the most heavily populated areas of Western Sydney.
The online tool shows that Erskine Park is one of the suburbs most affected by aircraft noise when Runway 05 is used.
In 2033, residents in Erskine Park are predicted to experience 20 to 49 flights exceeding 70 decibels over 24 hours, according to the ABC.
This is the level that stops conversation inside, when all the windows are closed.
When Runway 23 is used, residents around Greendale are most affected, predicted to experience 20 to 49 flights exceeding 70 decibels over 24 hours.
Supporting material explains the approaches to the preliminary flight paths design and noise modelling.
When Runway 05 is used, all aircraft will arrive from the south-west and depart to the north-east (pictured)
When Runway 23 is used all planes will arrive from the north-east and depart to the south-west (pictured)
The federal Transport Department will hold community information and feedback sessions across Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains in the coming months.
Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said the tool provided ‘additional transparency’ to the community.
‘Communities will be able to find out more information and speak with the flight path design team at these events,’ Ms King said on Tuesday.
‘The Albanese government is committed to balancing the needs of the community, environment, industry and users of the broader greater Sydney airspace, while maintaining safety as a priority, in the design of [the airport’s] flight paths,’ she said.
Construction of the airport, which will open in 2026, is past the halfway mark (pictured)
But Peter Dollin of the Residents Against Western Sydney Airport (RAWSA) community group said he is concerned about the noise impacts.
‘There’s an absolute inequality going on here between eastern Sydney and Western Sydney,’ he told the ABC.
‘Sydney Airport has the benefit of a curfew, there’ll be no curfew for this airport.’
The preliminary flight paths were developed according to airspace design principles reflecting community feedback from ‘proof-of-concept’ flight paths released in 2015.
These include minimising flights over residential areas and reducing the impact on the community of aircraft operations at night.
Later this year, the federal government will release a draft environmental impact statement examining the noise, social and environmental impacts of the preliminary flight path.
It will include a draft noise insulation and property acquisition policy.
The airport will initially have capacity for up to 10 million passengers and around 81,000 air traffic movements a year by 2033.
Earlier this month, Qantas and Jetstar became the first airlines to sign a deal with the airport.
The tool is available at: wsiflightpaths.gov.au
