Gold Coast Airport has a number of flight paths from its main runway.
To learn more about the runways at Gold Coast Airport, take a look at our Gold Coast Airport Runways page.
The illustration below shows how aircraft typically operate.
The animation is indicative only and provided for information purposes, on occasions flights may leave these general areas from time-to-time.
New flight paths commenced at Brisbane Airport on 12 July 2020. You can find out more about the new flight paths on our When is each flight path used page.
To learn more about the runways at Brisbane Airport, take a look at our Brisbane Airport Runways page.
The illustration below shows how aircraft typically operate following the new runway opening.
Some changes were made to departure flight paths on 28 November 2024. The North East Flow image below will be updated to show the changes once we have captured enough representative data. You can view the flight path changes on the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane | Engage Airservices page.
The animation is indicative only and provided for information purposes, on occasions flights may leave these general areas from time-to-time.
We collect noise and operational data from twelve noise monitors (Environmental Monitoring Unit, EMU) around Sydney Airport. Noise monitors are listed below according to their location.
Access monthly data on our Sydney noise monitoring reports page.
Sydenham (EMU 6)
Captures arrivals to Runway 16 Right and departures off Runway 34 Left. This monitor is closest to the threshold of Runway 16 Right/34 Left. The consistently high number of noise events reflects the high use of the main runway throughout the year.
St Peters (EMU 13)
Main purpose is to capture arrivals to Runway 16 Left, however it can capture movements from Runway 16 Right/34 Left and departures off Runway 34 Right.
This monitor captures many of the same operations as the Annandale monitor and demonstrates the same seasonal pattern. However, being closer to the runway it captures more aircraft noise events.
Annandale (EMU 12)
Main purpose is to capture arrivals to Runway 16 Left, however it can also capture movements from Runway 16 Right/34 Left and departures off Runway 34 Right.
The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded at this monitor reflects the seasonal pattern use of Runway 16 Right, with generally more events recorded in summer than in winter.
Leichhardt (EMU 36)
Captures arrivals to Runway 16 Right.
This monitor is affected by the same operations as Hunters Hill monitor and reflects the seasonal pattern use of Runway 16 Right, with more events captured in summer than in winter.
Hunters Hill (EMU 116)
Captures arrivals to Runway 16 Right.
The number of noise events recorded by this monitor reflects the seasonal pattern use of Runway 16 Right, with more events captured in summer than in winter.
Croydon (EMU 102)
Captures departures off Runway 34 Left.
The number of noise events recorded reflects the seasonal pattern use of Runway 34 Left with more aircraft noise events captured in winter than in summer.
Threshold Runway 34 (EMU 1)
Captures departures off Runways 16 Right and 16 Left and arrivals to Runways 34 Left and 34 Right
The number of aircraft noise events captured reflects the pattern of use of Runway 34 Left, with more events generally recorded in winter than in summer.
Kurnell (EMU 101)
Captures arrivals to Runway 34 Right and some arrivals to Runway 34 Left
Eastlakes (EMU 99)
Captures arrivals to Runway 25 and departures off Runway 07 and Runway 34 Right.
The pattern of aircraft noise events recorded reflects the seasonal use of Runway 34 Right, with more movements in winter than in summer.
Coogee (EMU 100)
Captures arrivals to Runway 25, departures off Runway 07 and Runway 34R heading to the east and south.
Captures noise from similar operations and reflects the same seasonal pattern to the Eastlakes monitor, however being further east from the airport the number of noise events recorded is smaller.
Bexley (EMU 3)
Captures arrivals to Runway 07 and departures off Runway 25.
This monitor is closer to the runway than the Penshurst monitor, therefore it displays the same trends but records more aircraft noise events.
Penshurst (EMU 2)
Captures arrivals to Runway 07 and departures off Runway 25.
Historically at Sydney Airport there are fewer departures off Runway 25 than the other Runways.
Learn more about monitoring aircraft noise on the Airservices website.
We are responsible for developing Australian Noise Exposure Index (ANEI) contours for Sydney Airport. ANEI contours are based on historical data and show the average daily aircraft noise exposure over the specified period.
The ANEIs for 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2024 are shown below.
Previous reports are available on request.
The ANEI contours were generated using United States Federal Aviation Administration (US FAA) Airport Environmental Design Tool (AEDT).
The following key inputs were used to develop the AEDT model:
Archerfield Airport is a large general aviation airport catering for charter flights, flight training, aircraft maintenance and emergency response units, both fixed wing and helicopters.
Archerfield Airport operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week. It is Brisbane’s secondary airport and Queensland’s major centre for general aviation activities.
Noise abatement measures are taken on the ground such as designated run-up bays and specific helicopter landing areas.
The majority of aircraft using Archerfield Airport fly under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). There are designated routes for VFR aircraft to ensure that VFR traffic remains separate from aircraft flying under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). It is not mandatory that VFR aircraft fly these routes, but many do, especially as they approach or depart airports. These routes are outside controlled airspace.
VFR routes include defined entry and exit points to and from controlled airspace. These are landmarks that are easily seen by the pilot from the air. These landmarks are highlighted in the images below, which also show the average percentage of arrivals or departures that use the route.
There is no minimum altitude for aircraft in the process of landing. Aircraft will generally descend on a glide slope of three degrees.
The altitude of aircraft after departure will depend on factors such as the type of aircraft and its weight, how heavily laden it is with fuel and passengers, and the atmospheric conditions at the time. All these factors affect an aircraft’s climb rate. There is no regulated minimum altitude for an aircraft in the process of taking off.
The below images are an example of standard flight paths into and out of the airport on a normal day.
Shown below are track densities for Archerfield from January to March 2020. A track density is generated by overlaying a grid on the map, and coloring that grid based on a count of how many operations passed through each grid square. Cooler colours are used for low counts, and warmer colours for high traffic.
An airport curfew is a legislated restriction on aircraft operations at a federally-leased airport during a specified time period.
A curfew limits the types of aircraft that are permitted to use Sydney Airport between 11.00pm and 6.00am each day.
While most aircraft operations are prohibited during this period, emergency aircraft, some small jets, propeller-driven aircraft and freight movements are allowed, and, in exceptional circumstances, other aircraft that have been granted a dispensation to land by the Minister. The curfew limits what aircraft can land and take-off and, in some cases, the runways that can be used.
An aircraft may take off after the start of curfew if it received taxi clearance before the curfew began. Under the curfew regulations, a limited number of passenger flights may be permitted to land between 5.00am and 6.00am during non-daylight-saving periods. These flights arrive after the curfew ends at 6.00am when daylight saving is in place, but arrive an hour earlier when clocks are turned back at the end of daylight saving. These flights generally originate from ports where curfews prevent them leaving later.
During the curfew aircraft must take off and land over Botany Bay. The only exception to this is for emergency services. When an aircraft landing at or taking off from Sydney Airport flies over residential suburbs during the curfew it is usually the Royal Flying Doctor Service or another emergency medical flight. This is because these flights are always given the most direct route between the airport and the emergency due to the nature of their missions. You can use WebTrak to identify these flights by their flight number which will begin with:
This curfew applies only to movements that originate from, or end at, Sydney Airport. This means that an aircraft may travel over Sydney during the curfew if it is coming and going from destinations other than Sydney Airport such as, for example, Bankstown or Camden Airports or other aerodromes or helipads.
Curfews are legally enforceable and regulated by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, who can make a determination of a curfew violation and prosecute an airline or aircraft operator for breaching a curfew.
This tool shows the number of flights each day over your area in the selected month compared to the average for last year. The bottom axis shows the day of the month. Use the drop-down menu to change the selected month to see how movements have varied. Hover over each day to see flight numbers.
*Please note due to technical issues between 19 June and 22 June 2024, flight data may not be accurately displayed. Our supplier is working to resolve the issue. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
WebTrak My Neighbourhood (left) is an extension of WebTrak that presents historical information about aircraft noise and flight path use to provide an understanding of patterns over time.
Using this tool you can explore arrival, departure or both types of flight paths by month, quarter or year to see:
Access information about how to use WebTrak My Neighbourhood, including a downloadable guide
Visit WebTrak My Neighbourhood – Sydney
Below: a departure flight path ‘swathe’ with tag showing percentage of departure traffic, number of flights and hours of respite for that flight path in the selected timeframe
Below: Click the “i” on any flight path tag to see more detailed data
Below: noise monitoring data tags
Sydney Airport has three runways. Each runway can be used in two directions. Because flight paths are linked to runways, the runway in use and the direction in which it is used determines which flight paths are used at any given time. When the runway in use changes, the flight paths in use will also change, and different sections of the community will experience overflights.
Each runway is referred to differently according to in which direction it is being used, as explained in the following video:
For example the main runway is known as Runway 34 Left (34L) when used in a northerly direction and Runway 16 Right (16R) when used in a southerly direction. Runway numbering reflects the runways’ orientation and correlates with degrees on a compass. For example, Runway 34L is 340 degrees.
The main runway 16R/34L (3.9km) is orientated north to south, as is a shorter parallel runway 16L/34R (2.4km long). The cross runway 07/25 (2.5km) is orientated east to west.
Heavy long-haul jets, such as Airbus 380s, and Boeing 747s, 777s and 787s will usually use Runway 34L/16R because it is the longest runway and they need the extra length.
Air traffic controllers select which runways to use based on wind direction, weather conditions, traffic volume and other factors. Because aircraft take-off and land into the wind for safety and performance reasons, the wind conditions at the airport are a key factor in these decisions. If the wind at the airport is calm or light, other factors are taken into account. These factors are discussed in more details in our Runway Selection page.
The Sydney Airport Long Term Operating Plan also informs runway selection decisions. Learn more about the Long Term Operating Plan and noise sharing.
Sydney Airport has a curfew that restricts both aircraft type and runway usage between the hours of 11:00 pm and 6:00 am. During this time departures use Runway 16R and arrivals 34L. Emergency medical flights are excepted and can use any runway required to expedite their journey.
Sydney Airport has three runways:
Runways can be used in both directions which results in four flows that are outlined in the illustration below. To learn how the flow direction is determined, visit our When is each flight path used? page.
The animation is indicative only and provided for information purposes, on occasions flights may leave these general areas from time-to-time.
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