The Gold Coast is popular with domestic and international tourists and this creates demand for helicopter joy flights and scenic helicopter tours. In general, these operations increase when the weather is fine and clear and during holiday periods. There also tends to be an increase of this activity coinciding with Chinese New Year celebrations.

There are a significant amount of helicopters involved in recreational activities in and around the Gold Coast area. They operate from helipads in the Southport area, such as Sea World and the Marina Mirage. These helicopter activities are considered as ‘standard operations’ and are permitted.

An extract of the typical paths used by these aircraft is shown in the following image:

The majority of light aircraft and helicopters operate outside or underneath controlled airspace, and this is the case for the helicopters operating at the northern end of the Gold Coast. As the airspace is uncontrolled, these operations are not under the direction of air traffic control however Civil Aviation Safety Authority Regulations still apply and must be adhered to.

Helicopter tour companies use a number of noise mitigation strategies such as varying their tracking to ensure they are not overflying the same residences each flight. Pilots are instructed to climb as quickly as possible and to avoid situations that increase rotor blade slap.

Helicopters, like fixed-wing aircraft land and take-off into the wind for safety reasons. This means the wind direction at the helipad usually determines whether or not they depart to the north or to the south. While the scenic route is similar regardless of the departure direction, residents will observe flights in opposite directions at times and as a result the altitudes of the helicopters may differ between flights.