Airport curfew

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:

• AM (NSW Air Amubulance),
• FD (Royal Flying Doctor Service) or
• RSCU (NSW Rescue Helicopter).

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.