Federal regulators excluded a major pending redesign of Brisbane’s flight paths from the noise modelling for Brisbane Airport’s 2026 Master Plan, now approved.
Supplementary noise contour maps used in the plan were not part of that official modelling.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information by the Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance (BFPCA) raised questions for Transport Minister Catherine King ahead of her decision on the airport’s expansion blueprint.
The Alliance wanted the Minister to reject or delay approval, warning the plan risked locking in long-term noise impacts based on incomplete modelling.
BFPCA chairman Professor Marcus Foth said the process echoed failures following the 2020 opening of the parallel runway.
“The community has already been burned once by flawed forecasts, weak governance and misleading assurances,” he said.
“The 2026 Master Plan risks locking in the next phase of airport growth before these issues are resolved.”
The documents show Airservices Australia’s TRAX airspace redesign — triggered by sustained community backlash — was not incorporated into the Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF) underpinning the Master Plan because it has not yet been finalised. Airservices formally endorsed the ANEF for technical accuracy.
They also reveal the Department of Infrastructure relied on supplementary noise contour maps (N60, N65 and N70), which measure the frequency of high-decibel overflights. While used in public consultation, these maps fall outside the official ANEF review process.
The material contains no evidence of a population health assessment, cumulative noise burden analysis, or independent verification beyond work commissioned by Brisbane Airport Corporation and its consultants.
Long-term modelling indicates a steady erosion of the airport’s primary noise mitigation measure — Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS), which directs flights over Moreton Bay. At a projected 501,295 annual aircraft movements by 2056 — about 1,373 flights a day — over-water respite is expected to shrink to a six-hour overnight window between 11pm and 5am.
“The Master Plan normalises a future where growth progressively crowds out the least harmful operating mode,” Prof Foth said.
An Airservices spokesperson told Village Voice weather, not growth, remained the main constraint on SODPROPS, and the agency is consulting on changes to maximise over-water flight paths and increase aircraft altitude over residential areas.
BFPCA wrote to Minister King on February 23, April 10 and May 21 seeking clarification on traffic redistribution, the validity of the 2026 ANEF given the TRAX redesign, and implications under the EPBC Act. Only the first letter received a response, which provided general background but did not directly address the questions.
A Department of Infrastructure spokesperson said TRAX was excluded from the modelling because it has not yet been finalised under the Noise Action Plan.
BFPCA maintained that the Minister should reject or defer the Draft 2026 Master Plan until the Department provides clear and transparent answers.
The Minister’s statutory day 50-decision deadline was June 3, but Ms King triggered a 10-business-day extension under the Act, with the approval announced on June 16.
