Air traffic management
Airservices Australia provides air traffic control (ATC) and air traffic management (ATM) services to aircraft at Sydney Airport, both for approach and departure paths and the en-route network. Flight paths have been developed over time to provide as many routes as possible for the appropriate operational flexibility of the airport.
Along with the implementation of noise sharing in areas around the airport, the development of flight paths takes into consideration:
- safety and maintaining aircraft separation, and
- efficiency by minimising track miles, fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
The ability for an aircraft to fly precisely on a designated flight path depend on a range of factors, including prevailing weather conditions, aircraft type and weight, and the volume of traffic in the airspace. These factors can sometimes result in aircraft deviating from the defined flight path, resulting in the perception that an aircraft is flying on a new or different flight path.
Noise sharing
Noise sharing at Sydney Airport is achieved through the Australian Government’s directive to Airservices to implement the Long Term Operating Plan (LTOP). The LTOP is designed to ensure that flights to or from Sydney Airport are maximised over water (i.e. Botany Bay) and non-residential land. Where overflight of residential areas cannot be avoided the LTOP aims to safely share the noise between communities, and provide periods of respite from noise.
Noise abatement procedures
Published jet noise abatement procedures are operational measures designed to reduce aircraft noise during the initial or final stages of flight, when aircraft are closer to the ground, using methods such as:
- use of lower thrust or drag settings to reduce noise
- flight path profiles that keep an aircraft higher over residential areas on approach
What influences the choice of flight path?
When selecting which runway to use, aviation safety is the paramount consideration. Whether or not it’s safe to use a particular runway will, in part, depend on wind speed and direction. Aircraft must take off and approach into the wind as much as possible which assists the aircraft in producing lift, while reducing the amount of ground roll required during take-off and landing.
As runway selection greatly influence aircraft noise exposure on nearby communities, Sydney Airport supports the sharing of aircraft noise in areas around Sydney Airport through implementation of the Long Term Operating Plan (LTOP).
Master Plan 2039 assumes that the existing flight paths to and from Sydney Airport will remain unchanged throughout the planning period. The flight paths used by jet and non-jet aircraft are shown below where the flight paths indicated are those used by aircraft in the very early stages of flight (immediately after take-off) or very late stages of flight (immediately before landing).
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