Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance – people before planes

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Welcome to BFPCA, fellow aircraft noise sufferer.

Aircraft noise has gotten to you, you’ve heard about BFPCA and found your way to our website. Below is a quick summary of the issues, what we’ve been fighting against since 2020, and a bit about why our key demands are what they are.

Who is BFPCA?

Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance (BFPCA) brings together Brisbane communities adversely affected by Brisbane Airport’s flight paths – including noise pollution, air pollution and human health impacts.

We’re a peak group that supports and allies with smaller and more local groups across greater Brisbane who are fighting aircraft noise and other impacts. We formed in 2020 when the new parallel runway at Brisbane Airport opened and tens of thousands of greater Brisbane residents realised we’d all been lied to by Brisbane Airport Corporation and Airservices Australia.

What are the key issues we are fighting against?

Regulatory capture

This is the root of the problem. BFPCA has amassed significant evidence that Brisbane Airport Corporation and Airservices Australia misled communities about the impacts of the new runway at Brisbane Airport. This evidence has been corroborated by the Aircraft Noise Ombudsman.

Regulatory capture is a term that sums up how this kind of problem is allowed to happen. It refers to when a regulatory body is dominated by the interests of those they regulate and not by the public interest. In the case of aircraft noise, the regulatory bodies are Airservices Australia, CASA, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, and the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government and the Minister for the Environment and Water.

Airservices does not serve the public interest and colludes with its aviation partners (airlines, airports) to give them exactly what they need to make the most money. The Airservices funding model (a levy on flights paid by the airlines) and the cosy relationship of governments and politicians and the aviation industry and its funders means, essentially, they get what they want with very little oversight.

Noise

Construction noise on a Sunday? Neighbours having a loud party after 10pm? Dog barking before 7am? Concerned about the adjacent road, highway, rail line? There are strict local and state government regulations for all sorts of noise pollution. Even new mufflers were installed on Brisbane’s KittyCat ferries following concerns about the fleet’s noise pollution in 2021.

But did you know that aviation noise is entirely exempt and unregulated in Australia?

Aircraft noise is debilitating and threatening to our mental and physical health, yet….

… in Australia, aircraft noise standards apply before an aircraft is allowed to operate here, rather than in the course of its day-to-day flying activities. Before an aircraft begins operating in Australia it is required to meet international noise standards that specify the amount of noise that may be emitted by that type or model of aircraft. Once an aircraft passes this certification process, there is no legislation or regulation that enables any agency, including Airservices, to police its noise levels.

Air pollution

Aircraft emissions, especially from piston-engine planes using leaded aviation gasoline (avgas), pose significant environmental and health risks. Lead, a toxic metal, is released into the air during combustion and can settle in nearby communities, causing neurological damage, particularly in children. Prolonged exposure to lead contributes to cognitive impairment, respiratory issues, and cardiovascular problems. Aircraft also contribute to air pollution by emitting nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, further degrading air quality and exacerbating climate change. The continued use of leaded avgas, despite its known dangers, remains a pressing concern for public health and environmental sustainability.

What are we fighting for?

BFPCA champions solutions to aircraft noise, air pollution and related impacts that will reduce their effects for everyone. Everyone deserves to live and enjoy their own homes free from excessive and harmful aircraft noise. This principle is what has led our communities to our key demands:

Curfew

Under Commonwealth legislation, night-time curfews have operated successfully for a long time at Sydney, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Essendon Airports between 11pm and 6am. The purpose of these curfews is to restrict aircraft operations during this time, to provide the communities surrounding these airports with some respite from aircraft noise.

It is a legal requirement to meet the conditions of these curfews. Heavy fines apply for organisations that land or take-off during curfew hours. Curfews do not stop all night-time aircraft movements at these airports. Emergency aircraft operations and some freight movements are still permitted, providing the airport operator takes appropriate steps to manage the noise impact from these operations.

BFPCA simply wants the same night time protections enjoyed by other communities around the Sydney, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Essendon airports, and many airports internationally.

Flight cap

BFPCA’s wants an Airport Capacity Declaration for Brisbane Airport of 45 flights an hour as provided for under the Airports Act 1996, Section 195, in order to provide Brisbane families and communities with certainty about the maximum number of flights to expect in a given day as well as into the future.

An Airport Capacity Declaration is a legal instrument that allows the Australian Government to regulate the capacity of certain designated airports in Australia. The capacity of an airport is determined by the number of aircraft movements that can take place at the airport within a given period of time, and can also impose conditions on airport operators to ensure that they comply with the declared capacity limit.

More flights over water

The now infamous aviation lingo term that by now so many in Brisbane know very well but never experience 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. Yet, Airservices quietly removed SODPROPS before 2020. We know now this is largely a red-herring because as soon as there is a lot of air traffic, Airservices turns this mode off. The amount of traffic at Brisbane Airport will see SODPROPS use fall to zero by around 2030. Yes, that soon. That’s why a flight cap that will allow more flights over water permanently is so badly needed.

Ban lead-based fuels

Avgas (aviation gasoline) contains tetraethyl lead (TEL) – a toxic additive phased out and banned in car fuel since 2002. Yet, it is still used in piston-engine aircraft operating daily at both Brisbane and Archerfield Airports. The emissions from burning leaded avgas release harmful lead particles into the atmosphere, contaminating soil and water sources. This poses severe health risks, especially to children and pregnant women. There is no safe level of lead exposure. Communities near airports and flight paths, relying on tank water, are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure from aircraft emissions, highlighting the urgent need for transitioning to unleaded fuel alternatives. BFPCA demands an immediate ban of aircraft using lead-based fuel.

So, what can you do?

A couple of things you can do to start with:

Welcome on board, and now let’s make some noise!