2020-10-12 GC Agenda - Item 9 - Attachment 1 - Aircraft Noise Ombudsman Report - Investigation

4 The development of flight paths at Sunshine Coast
Background

4.1       Sunshine Coast Airport, which is owned by Sunshine Coast Council and
          operated by Palisade Investment Partners, planned to implement a new
          runway in May 2020 as part of its Sunshine Coast Airport Expansion Project
          (SCAEP)5.

4.2       On 31 January 2011, the project was referred by the Sunshine Coast Council
          to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment as part of the approval
          process. Separately, on 6 September 2011, Airservices and the Civil Aviation
          Safety Authority (CASA) advised the Minister that the project would require the
          development of new flight paths and requested advice on the requirements
          and criteria for an environmental assessment.

4.3       On 21 May 2012, a delegate of the Minister for the Environment decided that
          the proposal, including airspace management, would be assessed by an
          environmental impact statement (EIS) conducted by the Sunshine Coast
          Council.

4.4       The EIS and the community consultation was based on concept flight path
          designs developed by a private sector designer. The designer’s Airspace
          Design Concepts Report6 of September 2012 noted that:

                  Four consultation meetings were held with Airservices Brisbane Centre staff from June
                  to August 2012 to further assess the suitability… and agree on the basic flight path
                  corridors…7

4.5       In providing its agreement in a letter from Airservices’ Aviation Relations
          Manager to Sunshine Coast Airports’ Planning and Major Projects Manager on
          23 October 2012, Airservices advised that:

                  Airservices recognises that ongoing community engagement associated with the
                  introduction of these projected flight corridors will be required and advise that
                  Airservices is willing to provide relevant support for this engagement where appropriate.

4.6       The Sunshine Coast Council conducted public consultation on its EIS from 29
          September 2014 to 13 November 2014. On 18 February 2015, additional
          information for the EIS was requested by the Queensland Coordinator-General
          and as a result a further public consultation process was carried out from 2
          November 2015 to 30 November 2015. Airservices had no involvement in
          either consultation process.




5 See: https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Council/Planning-and-Projects/Major-Regional-Projects/Sunshine-

Coast-Airport-Expansion-Project
6 Leading Edge Aviation Planning Professionals (L.E.A.P.P), Sunshine Coast Airport Airspace Design Concepts

Report, issued 28 September 2012
7 ibid, p. 1



Aircraft Noise Ombudsman
Investigation into complaints about the introduction of new flight paths in the Sunshine Coast (April 2020)   Page 9