Airport Restrictions !

It took many decades and a host of public enquiries before a final decision was made to site Sydney's second airport at Badgery's Creek.  Before the building even starts we are entering a new row about just what status this will have in relation to the existing Kingsford Smith airport in the heart of the city.

There is a suggestion that Badgery's Creek may be termed a " regional airport " and be subjected to movement restrictions similar to those in force at Kingsford Smith.   Because Kingsford Smith is surrounded by tightly packed residential suburbs the government has seen fit to impose a landing and taking off curfew in the interests of noise abatement.

This is anathema to the world airline industry.  There is the expectation that national airports operate on a twenty-four hour basis and the airport serving Sydney is seen as our national airport on the world scene.   The basis for the construction of Badgery's Creek was to allow the number of services to grow in quantity and to do away with the restrictions that encumbered the old airport in its city location.

One of the reasons for the Badgery;s Creek decision was that the site was located on farming land on  the outskirts of the city.  As such, it is isolated from the noise problem and there was the expectation that the surroundings would adjust to the airport, rather than the other way around which is what had to happen at Kingsford Smith.

It is expected that the new airport at Badgery's Creek will attract surrounding industry and that will create much needed jobs.  No doubt workers will desire to live close by, but whatever housing moves into proximity to the airport will need to be adjusted to the conditions that apply, and that means that items like heavy insulation and double glazing will be mandatory to control airport noise.

There is also the expectation that aircraft engine development is getting quieter.  There is the expectation that because of its location this new airport will distribute a more moderate noise pattern over a wider area at a much reduced level.   Some distant suburbs may experience a muted noise level that they did not experience from Kingsford Smith.

Sydney has experienced a limitation unheard of in most major world cities.  It is served by a single airport - and that is most unusual.  Badgery's Creek is long overdue and even now it will be at least a decade before it is fully operational.  It is very important that we get the planning right and all forms of restrictions are kept to a minimum.   It is likely that this new airport will quickly become the official entry to Australia.

This political pressure for restrictions should be resisted.  Once they are installed they are almost impossible to remove. Eventually, we will need a third airport.   That may be as much as half a century away, but it will become a need a lot sooner if we botch the Badgerys Creek project and weigh it down with restrictions that limit its operations.