2019-04-18 Ordinary Meeting Agenda

ORDINARY MEETING AGENDA                                                                            18 APRIL 2019




Such comparisons allow like for like comparisons to see the frequency of “like for like” noise impact
on localities that people are familiar with.

4.    Hours of airport operation and Airport Curfews
One of the key considerations for noise is the level of ambient noise and environmental conditions.
In layman’s terms, an overhead aircraft is more likely to be heard at night than during the day time
period.
The question of hours of operation were addressed in the Co-ordinator General’s Assessment of the
EIS in 2016. It identified as follows:
“Flights would not operate during night-time (10pm to 7am) until 2040. In 2040, two flights are likely
to be scheduled between 6am to 7am”6.
It is important to note that this is not a mandated curfew but rather, the proposed operating procedure
of the airport. It is not legally enforceable for non-compliance but represents the airports proposed
‘modus operandi’.
Sunshine Coast Airport has also adopted a “Fly Neighbourly Policy”. This is a voluntary agreement
by airport operators to abide by certain obligations to reduce the impact of operations (mainly noise)
on residents. This was developed by Sunshine Coast Airport at a time when there were particular
concerns about the level of noise emanating from helicopter operations. A copy of the Fly
Neighbourly Policy can be found here - https://www.sunshinecoastairport.com.au/wp-
content/uploads/2017/08/20160701-FlyNeighbourlyPolicy.pdf
Similar to the hours of operation identified in the EIS, the Fly Neighbourly Policy is a voluntary code
of conduct that expresses the intent of airport operators in reducing noise impacts across the region.

6 Page 31 of the Sunshine Coast Airport Expansion Project Coordinator-General’s evaluation report on the Environmental

Impact Statement dated May 2016.

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