60 Reasons to Protest: Reason #60 – The removal of SODPROPS
Today it’ll be 60 days until the first BFPCA protest. We’ll be posting a new reason to protest every day counting down to the 10th June 2023. This is a good refresher for all our new members and followers of all the issues BFPCA has been uncovering since we started end of 2020. Our sources include whistleblower accounts, Senate Estimates, Freedom of Information requests, and the three reports from the ANO, BAPAF and TRAX.
Of course we start with the infamous aviation lingo term that by now everyone in Brisbane knows very well but never experiences as promised: SODPROPS or Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations. This refers to a mode where one runway is used for departures over water and the other runway for arrivals over water. This is how the project was sold to us, and it is mentioned prominently in the 2007 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and in the community engagement “talking points” issued by Airservices to BAC. The Aircraft Noise Ombudsman confirmed in his 2021 report:
“Many complainants assert they were assured significant numbers of flights would occur over Moreton Bay…” (item 6.9)
“BAC’s role in taking the lead on the provision of noise information suited Airservices’ then lack of capacity in effective community engagement.” (item 7.20)
Already back in 2020, BFPCA traced the mention of SODPROPS. It shows how Airservices first amended and then finally entirely removed any mention of SODPROPS from day-time operations at Brisbane Airport. BFPCA have called for SODPROPS to be re-instated as the number 1 priority mode and even tabled amended Noise Abatement Procedures together with an ATC performance expectation guide as part of our detailed PIR submission. These have been ignored by Airservices.
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