Williamtown (Newcastle Airport) Airspace and Civil Flight Path Review

The outcomes of the community consultation over the proposed flight path design changes at Newcastle Airport have been released. The following is summarised from the Official Fact sheet

COMMUNITY SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT 

• Move the arrival flight paths and holding pattern to the west (over Crown land) 

• Increase the minimum altitude of the holding pattern 

The township of Toronto relies heavily upon tourism to support its economy. Feedback from the community has focused on reducing the noise impacts from aircraft, as much as possible. Specifically, residents are concerned about aircraft noise reflecting off the lake. As uninhabited Crown land is located directly to the west, it has been suggested that the arrival flight paths to the west be moved to reduce impacts on populated areas.

CONCLUSION 

Airservices Australia acknowledges the community concern regarding the Toronto location. However, under the proposed flight path, the area will be subject to aircraft operation at the same height that it is currently experiencing. 

Whilst the community has requested that the proposed arrival flight path is moved further west, the designers have identified that the path is as far west as it can go because: 

• Williamtown arrivals must use the existing air routes from the south associated with Sydney Airport until they reach Williamtown airspace. 
• These air routes have already been moved as far west as possible, including with the minimum acceptable spacing in between each route. 

This area has significant airspace constraints. Specifically this airspace is used to facilitate the segregation of civilian and military traffic within Williamtown airspace, and to avoid the airspace, managing Sydney arrivals to the west. 

The community has also requested that consideration is given to increasing the minimum height of the proposed holding pattern. In considering this suggestion the designers note: 

• The minimum height does not mean that the aircraft will necessarily operate at that height. Rather, aircraft prefer to be as high as possible to minimise fuel consumption. 
• The ATC will therefore always use the highest available level (8,000 feet AMSL) first, then 7,000 feet AMSL, then 6,000 feet AMSL, and so on. 

ASSESSMENT OUTCOME 

The proposal to move the arrivals flight paths further west is not able to progress due to the requirement for aircraft to pass over Catherine Hill Bay to link with Sydney airspace and connect with the existing air route network. 

Whilst Airservices Australia is unable to alter the proposed design for Runway 12 operations, Airservices Australia and RAAF have re-considered the need for the holding pattern between 8,000 and 5,000 feet AMSL over Belmont, Caves Beach and Swansea for Runway 30 operations, and has decided not to proceed with the proposed holding pattern. Aircraft will instead hold over the ocean, if required. 

 

New Flight Paths proposed over Toronto

Air Services Australia will be holding a community consultation session on the proposed preliminary airspace design for Newcastle Airport at Kilaben Bay Hall, 132A Kilaben Bay Road, on Saturday 30 July 2022 between 2.00pm and 5.00pm

This is not a structured meeting with a specific start time. It is an opportunity for local residents to come in and talk to the technical experts about the preliminary design and to provide feedback. There is a request to register to attend the community consultation session on the website. 

The following statements have been extracted from the Air Services Australia website which also includes maps and region specific information for Lake Macquarie.

In 2015, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and RAAF conducted a Joint Aeronautical Study of Williamtown Airspace…The Study found that a significant increase in scheduled air traffic, together with the introduction of next generation military aircraft requires a redesign of the airspace in accordance with international best practice.

Following on from feedback gained during the early engagement phase in 2021, we (Air Services Australia) have developed a preliminary airspace and flight path design for Williamtown (Newcastle Airport).

Where operationally safe, flight paths have been designed to minimise impacts to communities, particularly in relation to aircraft noise. Where residential areas cannot be avoided, we have attempted to design the airspace so operations can be distributed and noise shared, and to avoid the most populated areas of these communities, where possible. Noise impact assessments have been undertaken to identify the levels of aircraft noise that may potentially be experienced in different communities.

The Lake Macquarie Fact Sheet states “Based on forecast seasonal average runway usage, we anticipate an indicative number of movements per day in the following areas: Toronto Between 12 and 16 movements/day

The implementation of the proposed new flight paths may result in a noticeable change to aircraft operations in some locations. Changes will be audible to some communities, while others are more likely to visually notice aircraft. − Arcadia Vale, Buttaba, Cams Wharf, Catherine Hill Bay, Fassifern, Fishing Point, Killingworth, Moonee, Toronto, Rathmines, Wakefield and Wangi Wangi may notice non-jet arrivals to RWY 12 on descent above 8,000 feet.

The proposed preliminary airspace design is now available for community review and comment. We will consider all feedback received as we finalise the design.