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Transport Minister Catherine King has authorised the preliminary flight paths for Western Sydney International Airport, with Airservices to conduct detailed design and community engagement.
Speaking at the airport on Wednesday, the transport minister said that in order to minimise noise impact on surrounding communities, reciprocal runway operations (RRO) will be prioritised at night, with a specific noise abatement procedure employed, when it is safe to do so.
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“We released those preliminary flight paths back in June of 2023 and they have been subject to the most extensive consultation process of any airport in the country. We’ve had more than 50 consultation sessions, over 8,400 submissions to the draft environmental impact statement,” she said.
“The final EIS was released in November last year, and with five changes made in response to the public feedback that will minimise aircraft noise, particularly overnight.
“I am officially authorising the preliminary flight paths with those changes, and when making this decision the community has been front of mind for me. We’ve learnt lessons from other airports, which is why I have imposed a number of additional conditions that will reduce aircraft noise.”
Under RRO, planes will arrive and depart from the same direction to minimise noise at night when traffic permits.
“Today’s authorisation also incorporates recommendations by the minister for the environment to establish an environmental monitoring program for the Greater Blue Mountains area to ensure cultural and natural heritage of the region is protected,” the minister said.
“This is, of course, in addition to the community noise monitoring program that will be undertaken by Airservices Australia who will soon begin consultation about where to place the location of those noise monitors.”
Rob Sharp, CEO of Airservices, said the flight paths will now proceed to the detailed design stage for final approval by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
“The minister’s directive to prioritise the use of reciprocal runway operations and noise abatement procedures at night, when conditions allow, will form a key part of our operating plan for WSI,” he said.
“Throughout the detailed design process, we will be actively engaging with industry stakeholders and communities so they know what to expect when WSI commences operations in 2026.”
WSI also this week announced the completion of works on its first runway, which will now proceed to the testing phase ahead of the airport’s opening late next year.
