PIR5 - Noise abatement trial
Recommendation 5 of Airservices’s flawed post-implementation review of its Hobart airspace design, implemented a ‘noise abatement procedure’ (NAP) that requires arriving aircraft to fly over Dunalley for 18 hours a day rather than the shorter and safer smart track implemented in 2019.
Back story
Following its 2018 review of Hobart’s airspace, Airservices introduced the shorter smart track approach was introduced to improve safety, reduce fuel emissions and reduce impact on communities previously overflown for aircraft arriving at the south of the airport. Airservices announced that while it initially expected that not all airlines would be capable of using the smart track, uptake would increase over time.
SECLA and the community strongly supported this initiative during the consultation and in submissions to the post-implementation review.
Impact
However, following a community member’s suggestion, Airservices decided to reverse these benefits by recommending a misleadingly-titled ‘Noise Abatement Procedure’ to prevent aircraft using the smart track during particular hours of the day, and instead flying over Dunalley.
Such procedures are sometimes used to minimise aircraft noise for noise-sensitive communities during night time hours, e.g. by requiring aircraft to fly over water or uninhabited areas. What Airservices is implementing is not about abating noise during critical times - instead it simply shifts noise from one community to another for a full 18 hours per day.
Current status
In 2022 Airservices commenced a community survey to trial a Noise Abatement Procedure (NAP), using the justification that more aircraft were using the smart track approach than their modelling had indicated in 2019. Given the Smart Track was pitched to our communities as a noise mitigation, and the ‘way of the future’, then to have to run a NAP just three years later displays at best, a complete lack of vision for their industry, and at worst, duplicitous community engagement.
The community survey offered 3 options of time periods of a day that aircraft would be directed onto the RNAV (longer) approach. The longest of which was 8 hours. A fourth option was to implement no change with a fifth option to nominate another time period.
The results of the NAP trial survey were roughly equal: 47% no change, 53% selecting some form of trial.
Details of ASA’s assessment of the trial can be found here: https://engage.airservicesaustralia.com/81678/widgets/390234/documents/266347
In August 2023 ASA announced that they would not be proceeding with the trial, as a result of the inconclusive survey, lack of industry support and potential to increase emissions.
Aircraft Noise Ombudsman intervention
To the community’s surprise, in November 2023 Airservices announced they would proceed with the trial after all following an unexplained intervention from the Aircraft Noise Ombudsman.
The trial commenced in June 2024 for a period of six months, with arriving aircraft now flying over Dunalley from 2pm until 8am - i.e. 18 hours a day, 10 hours longer than any of the options in the original community survey.
When SECLA pressed Airservices to go back to the community for comment, they advised ‘they had done enough community consultation’. This completely invalidated the original community survey that was part of their consultation strategy.
What you can do
The NAP trial started in June 2024 and is due to end in December 2024.
When SECLA recently asked Airservices to explain whether the NAP would end in December or be allowed to continue, they would not give a clear answer.
It seems likely the trial will be allowed to continue and become established by stealth.
If you are affected by the NAP and it continues beyond December 2024 we recommend you complain to Airservices asking for an explanation and the outcome of the trial in writing.