How often we are told to Think Global and Act Local?
If we apply that approach to just one important global issue, we get the distinct message that “aircraft noise has been shown to adversely affect human health, contributing to sleep disturbance, cardiovascular disease, and decreased quality of life in airport communities”.
This appeared in the November 2025 issue of Noise and Health, in one of the most comprehensive studies I’ve seen, entitled: “Data Driven Bibliometric Analysis of Studies on Aircraft Noise and Health Effects”.
This study concluded by urgently advocating “for effective measures to reduce the health impacts of airport noise on communities” and highlighted “the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to address the complex health issues caused by aircraft noise”.
The Noise and Health article also called for “the development of more effective airport noise management strategies”.
Dr Michael Williams, in his column in Village Voice last June, pointed out that vulnerable groups such as children, older persons and people with mental health conditions, may be affected by aircraft noise in different ways compared to other members of the population.
What’s happening in Australia – and Brisbane specifically – “to reduce the health impacts of airport noise on communities”?
“Aircraft noise exposure is a genuine concern for some community members,” according to Peter Doherty, official spokesman for Brisbane Airport, who was asked to provide an update on this important environment and community health issue.
“Although we don’t design airspace or operate air traffic control,” Mr Doherty explained, “we continue to work to identify practical ways to minimise the impact of aircraft noise by collaborating with airlines, air traffic control, and regulators, with each stakeholder having a role to play.”
In the past year, Brisbane Airport has:
• Worked closely with Airservices Australia on their Noise Action Plan for Brisbane,
• Established an airline Night Operations Group to improve the community noise outcomes of their operations,
• Commenced an 18‑month trial to collect data on tailwind operations, continuing long‑term efforts to safely reduce overnight aircraft noise for local communities,
• Continued to work with passenger and freight operators to encourage scheduling outside of the overnight period wherever operationally feasible,
• Worked with Airservices Australia to raise industry awareness of the community benefits of safe over-water operations and engaged with key stakeholders such as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) on enabling the increase of such operations,
• Commissioned and installed monitoring stations and software to measure noise related to the operation of the airport, and publishing data and providing public access to flight track and noise monitoring data on our website,
• Advocated on behalf of the community for airlines to operate next-generation quieter fleet variants at Brisbane Airport to reduce the production of noise at its source.
• Continued to advocate for maximum use of noise abatement procedures such as Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS).
Much more needs to be done, though, according to the Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance (BFPCA).
Professor Marcus Foth, Chair, BFPCA says 2026 will be “a decisive year” and invites anyone who has “had enough aircraft noise pollution to last a lifetime” to attend the community town hall meeting at 4pm, Sunday 15 February at QUT Kelvin Grove, F Block, Lecture Theatre KG-F509.
Veteran travel writer Ken Hickson is author of seven books, including “Flight 901 to Erebus”, and as Editor of Topic Air in 1979, he produced an article about the serious health impact of aircraft noise. Last year, he attended an Air Services Australia community consultation on changing flight paths for aircraft operating to and from Brisbane Airport. Village Voice invited Ken to give our readers an update on the health impacts of aircraft noise affecting Brisbane residents.
