There are flight paths in and out of Essendon Airport for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) aircraft as explained below.

Because Melbourne Airport and Essendon Airport are in very close proximity, traffic at Essendon Airport sometimes needs to be managed in irregular ways to ensure that separation is maintained with Melbourne Airport traffic. Therefore at times you may observe aircraft flying in unusual ways.

A curfew that restricts both aircraft type and usage between the hours of 11pm and 6am applies. Certain classes of aircraft are permitted to operate during the curfew, including emergency services. More detail on curfew restrictions and dispensations is available on the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications website.

Aircraft operating in Australia are required to meet noise standards imposed through the Air Navigation (Aircraft Noise) Regulations 201

IFR Routes

Arrivals

Aircraft will approach Essendon Airport from all directions before they join the final approach path. Most arriving IFR aircraft will use standard arrival paths but some may be “radar vectored” by Melbourne air traffic control to intercept the final approach, that is, some aircraft may be given individual headings.

During inclement weather aircraft will usually make instrument approaches, which require the aircraft to be aligned with the runway in use 18 kilometres or more out from the airport as can be seen in the image of arrival flight paths below.

There is no minimum altitude for aircraft in the process of landing. Aircraft will generally descend on a glide slope of three degrees.

Departures

Aircraft departing Essendon Airport must be kept separated from aircraft departing and arriving Melbourne Airport. In most cases Essendon departures will be turned away from Melbourne Airport after take-off. Some aircraft may be directed to turn off the runway heading sooner than others. This usually occurs for traffic management reasons to ensure that safe separation is maintained between aircraft.

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.

VFR routes

There are designated routes for Visual flight Rules (VFR) aircraft to ensure that this traffic remains separate from aircraft flying under Instrument Flight Rules such as jets and most commercial aircraft. It is not mandatory that VFR aircraft fly these routes, but many do, especially as they approach or depart airports.

These routes are mainly outside controlled airspace (“OCTA”), that is, aircraft are not being directed by air traffic control. Whenever they fly outside controlled airspace, pilots are following the rules of the air. More information about airspace is found here.

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.

Aircraft inbound from the north may track via Craigieburn. Those from the north-east may track via Yan Yean Reservoir and Epping. When inbound from the east aircraft may track via Doncaster Shopping Centre and then either north or south of the airport or direct to the airport depending on which runway is in use.

Aircraft inbound from the south-east may track via major visual tracking points such as Albert Park and Station Pier or Westgate Bridge and then either via Moonee Valley Racecourse or direct to the airport.

From the south-west and west some aircraft will track coastal and via Laverton Bureau of Meteorological Tower, then get a clearance to track via Station Pier or Westgate Bridge and then via Moonee Valley Racecourse or direct to the airport.

The image below shows VFR and IFR arrival routes and the average percentage each VFR route is used.

Outbound VFR aircraft will be cleared via one of the visual tracking points towards their destination.

The image below shows VFR departure routes and the average percentage each is used.

Coastal route

The coastal route runs from Carrum to the south of Moorabbin Airport and around to Altona South. This allows aircraft to track around the city and the Bay while keeping outside controlled airspace and therefore not needing a clearance from air traffic control. A large number of light aircraft use this route.

Training Area

Aircraft may use the coastal route to access the training area south-east of Moorabbin Airport, or the training area near Point Cook.

Scenic helicopter routes

Essendon Airport has two intersecting runways, one oriented north-south (Runway 17/35) and one east-west (Runway 08/26).

Each runway is referred to differently according to in which direction it is being used. For example, the north-south runway is referred to as Runway 35 when used in a northerly direction and Runway 17 when used in a southerly direction.

Runway numbering reflects the runways’ orientation and correlates with degrees on a compass. Runway 35 is 350 degrees magnetic.

The following video explains how runways are named and used.

Runway selection and seasonal winds

Runway selection is based on wind direction, weather conditions, traffic volume and other factors. See the Runway Selection page for more details. Aircraft primarily take-off and land into the wind for safety and performance reasons. Therefore, as the wind direction changes the runway in operation may also change depending on the strength of the wind.

This means that Melbourne’s seasonal wind patterns affect usage of the different runway directions. For example, Runways 35 tends to be used more often in the cooler months when there are frequent winds with a northerly component. Runway 17 tend to be used more frequently in the warmer months when the predominant wind direction tends to be southerly. Often the wind will also have a westerly component, such as a north westerly or south westerly, and for this reason Runway 26 is used frequently throughout the year.

Noise abatement procedures

A curfew that restricts both aircraft type and usage between the hours of 11pm and 6am applies. Certain classes of aircraft are permitted to operate during the curfew, including emergency services. More detail on curfew restrictions and dispensations is available on the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications website.

Noise abatement procedures are designed to help reduce the impact of aircraft noise on communities. While they are applied whenever it is possible to do so, their use is not mandatory and is subject to weather conditions and traffic requirements.

The Essendon noise abatement procedures set out preferred runways at different times.

From 6:00 am to 11:00pm the preferred runways are:

• for landing: Runway 26 or 17 (equally preferred), followed by Runway 35 and lastly Runway 08
• for take-off: Runways 26 or 35 (equal), followed by Runway 17 and lastly Runway 08

From 11:00pm to 6:00am the preferred runways are:

• for landing: Runway 17, followed by Runway 26, then 35, then 08
• for take-off: Runway 35, followed by Runway 26, then 17, then 08

At Moorabbin Airport there are two sets of parallel runways. One set is orientated north to south (Runways 17 Left/35 Right and 17 Right/35 Left) and the other is orientated north-west to south-east (Runways 31 Left/13 Right and 13 Right/31 Left).

Each runway is referred to differently according to in which direction it is being used. For example, the north-south runways are referred to as Runway 35 Left and Right when used in a northerly direction and Runway 17 Left and Right when used in a southerly direction.

Runway numbering reflects the runways’ orientation and correlates with degrees on a compass. Runway 35 is 350 degrees magnetic.

The following video explains how runways are named and used.

Runway selection and seasonal winds

Runway selection is based on wind direction, weather conditions, traffic volume and other factors. See the Runway Selection page for more details. Aircraft primarily take-off and land into the wind for safety and performance reasons. Therefore, as the wind direction changes the runway in operation may also change depending on the strength of the wind.

This means that Melbourne’s seasonal wind patterns affect usage of the different runway directions. For example, Runways 35 Left and Right tend to be used more often in the cooler months when there are frequent winds with a northerly component. Runways 17 Left and Right tend to be used more frequently in the warmer months when the predominant wind direction tends to be southerly.

Noise abatement procedures

Noise abatement procedures are designed to help reduce the impact of aircraft noise on communities. While they are applied whenever it is possible to do so, their use is not mandatory and is subject to weather conditions and traffic requirements.

Under the noise abatement procedures, circuit training is only allowed between specific hours.

The preferred runway for use is Runway 35. The second choices are Runways 17, 13 and 31 equally. No circuits are to be conducted on Runway 04/22 which is not available unless operationally required, for example, because the wind conditions make other runways unusable.

For Runway 17 Right, departures are not permitted before 9:00am, jet departures are not permitted, and departing aircraft should maintain the runway heading until south of Woodlands Golf Course. Some aircraft types are not permitted to use this runway unless no other is available.

Departures from Runway 31 Left should maintain the runway heading until over Kingston Centre.