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NEW WSI FLIGHT PATHS NAMED Featured
04 July 2023 Posted by 

NEW WSI FLIGHT PATHS NAMED

Suburbs most hit by airport noise
DALLAS SHERRINGHAM
THE long-awaited preliminary flight paths for Western Sydney's new multi-billion-dollar airport are finally on view to the public and that very same public is not happy.
 
The flight paths will have a major effect on some suburbs and a lesser effect on others.
 
If you live in Erskine Park, Greendale or Luddenham the noise will be most apparent with lesser noise hitting spots like Parramatta, Rossmore and Springwood.
 
An online tool allows residents to see the noise impact over their homes by inserting their address,
 
It’s like a game of Twister trying to work out the overly complicated map which is at the heart of the tool.
 
However, the figures are less confusing with the suburb of Erskine Park set to experience 20 to 49 flights exceeding 70 decibels over 24 hours
 
By 2033 Greendale residents will shudder through 10 to 19 flights per night which exceed 60 decibels.
 
The $5.3B Western Sydney International Airport at Badgerys Creek will be the first in NSW with no curfew, which means flights taking off and landing 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
 
It’s all about the wind to decide if your suburb will suffer at any given time.
 
The flight paths show wind conditions will determine which of two main runway directions, Runway 05 and Runway 23, will be used at any time during the day and night.
 
A noise level of 70 decibels is the benchmark for aircraft noise since it is enough to disturb a conversation indoors.
 
Luddenham, Badgerys Creek and Erskine Park are all predicted to experience flights above 70 decibels during the day.
Further afield, Springwood, Rossmore and Parramatta, would experience some flights, but at levels well below 70 decibels.
 
Erskine Park will be one of the worst affected suburbs by aircraft noise when Runway 05 is used.
 
By 2033, residents are predicted to experience 20 to 49 flights exceeding 70 decibels over 24 hours.
 
But, when Runway 23 is used, residents around Greendale will be most affected, experiencing 20 to 49 flights exceeding 70 decibels over 24 hours.
 
By 2033 Greendale residents will hear 10 to 19 flights per night which exceed 60 decibels, which is a level that disturbs sleep.
 
And 60 is the magic number for deciding if your sleep is disturbed.
 
In fact, Greendale and Luddenham are predicted to experience these noise levels at least 10 to 19 times a night.
 
Further afield at St Marys and Marsden Park these noise levels will be experienced two to four times a night.
Meanwhile, locals  in Liverpool and Kellyville will hear the occasional flight at 42 decibels during the night, well below the limit to disturb sleep.
 
When Runway 05 direction is used, all aircraft will arrive from the south-west and depart to the north-east, while Runway 23 direction will see all planes arriving from the north-east and departing to the south-west.
 
And a third plan, which can be used at night when air traffic demand is lower, is designed to minimise the impact of noise on the most heavily populated areas of Western Sydney.
 
Member of the Residents Against Western Sydney Airport (RAWSA) community group Peter Dollin told the ABC the release of preliminary flight paths had been a long time coming.
 
"We're looking forward to having that transparency, but obviously we're quite anxious about what the final flight paths will be," he said.
 
Mr Dollin has lived in Blaxland for almost four decades and is most concerned about the potential impacts of aircraft noise in his area.
 
"There's an absolute inequality going on here between eastern Sydney and Western Sydney," he said.
 
"Sydney Airport has the benefit of a curfew, there'll be no curfew for this airport."
 
To find out more, community information sessions will be held across Western Sydney in the coming months, where locals will be able to speak with the flight path design team.
 
Construction of the airport is past the halfway mark and right from the start it will have capacity for up to 10 million passengers and around 81,000 air traffic movements a year by 2033.
 
Qantas and Jetstar became the first airlines to sign a deal with the airport with five Qantas and 10 Jetstar aircraft operating in its first year of operation.
 
Penrith City Council has welcomed the announcement of the flight paths, which brings the opening of the new Airport one step closer
 
Council said it would continue to assess all information to get a clearer picture of what it will mean for the community and encouraged all residents to get informed about the fight path related to their address through the Government online tool at www.wsiflightpath.gov.au
 


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