Work on runway brings back the jet noise

Flights that would usually have used the east-west runway will have to operate on one of the two north-south runways, meaning up to three extra flights per hour on each of the eight north-south approach and departure paths.

Suburbs within the boundaries of Marrickville, Leichhardt, Ashfield and Canada Bay councils and in Kurnell are expected to bear the brunt of the increased flight movements.

"There will be outrage, there is no doubt about that," said the president of No Aircraft Noise, Allan Rees. "It's a huge increase in noise and [there will be] no quiet periods basically, apart from the curfew, and the curfew is a mere seven hours."

Residents in areas that do not already suffer aircraft noise will be unaffected by the changes.

The temporary closure of the east-west runway will also cause flights to be delayed or diverted to Canberra, Melbourne or Brisbane when high crosswinds force the north-south runways to close.

Only residents in Rockdale will be pleased by the changes, with flight movements there expected to decrease during the construction period.

Under an international safety standard adopted by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the airport must extend the safety areas at the end of its three runways to 90 metres. The extensions are designed to minimise the risk to passengers were a plane to overrun or land short of the runway.

Although five safety areas have already been extended at a cost of $3 million, the extension of the western end of the east-west runway's safety area is budgeted at $65 million and will take far longer to complete.

This is because it is the site of some of the city's most important infrastructure, including Sydney Water's heritage-listed southern and western suburbs ocean outfall sewer, the M5 East motorway tunnel and Energy Australia's high-voltage power feeder cables.

The extension has nothing to do with larger aircraft, such as the world's largest airliner, the Airbus A380, coming to Sydney.

The chief executive at Sydney Airport, Russell Balding, apologised for the increased noise some Sydney residents will experience but said it was vital that the safety work be undertaken.

"Improving safety is Sydney Airport's paramount concern," Mr Balding said. "While there will be disruptions and some inconvenience to passengers while this project is under way - and we apologise for that - this is an essential aviation safety project."

Tall cranes and plant and other equipment will be used for the construction, during which more than 100 27-metre-long pre-cast concrete structural beams will be installed.

Some of the construction will take place at night but work involving Sydney Water and Energy Australia infrastructure will have to be done during daylight hours, the airport said.

Councillor Saeed Khan, of Marrickville Council, said people affected by the increased noise had been given no say in the matter. He questioned the timing of the announcement just after the federal election. "There was no consultation done with any of the local councils as to what impacts [there are] and how they are going to address this extra noise in the area," Cr Khan said.

Channeling extra aircraft onto the north-south flight paths increased the risk of damage to rooftops caused by low-flying jets and would add to the frustration of residents, he said.

 http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/work-on-runway-brings-back-the-jet-noise/2007/11/27/1196036899119.html