Runway Safety - Draft MDP Released

Public submissions invited by Wednesday 18 June 2008

Sydney Airport has publicly released the Draft Major Development Plan (MDP) for the construction of a larger runway safety area at the western end of the east-west runway and invited public submissions on the proposal by Wednesday 18 June 2008.

The provision of larger runway safety areas at Australia’s airports is a mandatory safety requirement set by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and is in line with international aviation standards.  They are intended to minimise the harm to passengers in the unlikely event that an aircraft over runs or lands short of a runway.

The Draft MDP will be available for viewing at local libraries and can be downloaded from the Sydney Airport website.  Submissions from pilots, airlines and all members of the community about the project are invited.

After public submissions have been received and considered, a revised Draft MDP will be submitted to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP.

The CEO of Sydney Airport, Russell Balding, said there is no one more interested in seeing the runway safety area constructed and the airport quickly returned to normal operations than Sydney Airport itself.

“I want to make it absolutely clear that Sydney Airport has no interest in seeing one of its runways not in full operation,” Mr Balding said. 

The runway safety area is proposed to be an 8,100 square metre land bridge that will provide a cleared area measuring 90 metres by 90 metres from the end of the runway strip to assist in the deceleration of an aircraft.  Construction will involve the installation of more than one hundred 27 metre long pre-cast concrete structural beams, each weighing more than 25 tonnes. 

The large tall cranes, plant and other equipment needed for the $85 million construction mean that operations on the east-west runway will be impacted and the runway will either be closed or have only restricted availability while construction is undertaken. 

The Draft MDP sets out the proposed construction timetable that will minimise the period during which the runway will be closed.

To ensure aviation safety, the east-west runway needs to be closed for eight months from mid-October 2008 to mid-June 2009.  For the following ten months from mid-June 2009 to mid-April 2010 the runway will be operated with restrictions and be unavailable during the hours of 7am to 7pm.  Works that do not impact the operation of the runway will then be undertaken and the project is planned to be completed by June 2010. 

The mid-October 2008 to mid-June 2009 period for runway closure has been selected as historical weather data indicates that high cross-winds are less likely to occur during these months.  This is an important consideration in minimising potential disruptions for passengers and airlines as if there are high cross winds while the east-west runway is unavailable then flights may be delayed or diverted.    

The flight paths that aircraft use when approaching or departing Sydney Airport are determined by the Australian Government’s Airservices Australia in line with the principles of the Long Term Operating Plan.

The Draft MDP includes an independent expert noise consultants’ report which assesses the likely noise impacts associated with the closure of the east-west runway.  In summary the findings are:

• No new residents will be impacted by aircraft noise
• Any impact will be temporary
• The airport curfew and cap of 80 aircraft movements into and out of Sydney Airport per hour will not change
• People living under the existing flight paths of the two north-south runways will, to varying degrees, experience an increase in the number and frequency of aircraft movements.  Some of these residents will notice a decrease in the periods during which they experience no noise  
• People living under the existing flight paths to the east-west runway will, to varying degrees, experience a decrease in the number and frequency of aircraft movements and an increase in periods during which they experience no noise 

The report sets out that the likely maximum daily increase in flight movements over certain areas, although what will happen on a day to day basis will be dependent upon weather conditions and decisions by Airservices Australia about which of the two north-south runways to use.  The daily increase experienced by some residents could be between 38 and 69 flights per day.

Sydney Airport apologises to people who will be affected by this vital runway safety project, but it is essential that we comply with the Australian Government’s air safety regulations.