Airport boss says night curfew ‘the worst thing’ to happen to Brisbane Airport
Imposing a night curfew on flights arriving into Brisbane Airport would be the “worst thing to happen” to the airport, the boss of the airport corporation says.
A recent airport advisory forum report into the noise complaints at the airport has once again raised the idea amid ongoing noise complaints.
Last week it was announced flight paths out of Brisbane Airport would be updated under a 12-month trial to reduce noise in northern suburbs, with more flights directed over Moreton Bay and planes to depart at steeper angles.
CEO of the Brisbane Airport Corporation, Gert-Jan de Graaf, said he didn’t agree with a night curfew and said it would do little to help the problem.
“I think all imposed restrictions would not be in the benefit of Brisbane, and would not be in the benefit of Brisbane Airport and the people that are willing to travel,” he told Scott Emerson.
He said they wanted to “identify and explore all opportunities” to reduce the noise impact on the impacted communities.
“A curfew is probably be the worst thing that can happen to our airport,” he said.
“It’s not going to help too much, because during the night there are not many flights so I think there are other and better opportunities for us to explore with air traffic control to make the situation better in the best interests of all people living in Brisbane.”
Press PLAY below to hear the full interview on noise concerns + international arrivals
On Saturday, the arrival gates at the international terminal were busy once again.
He said it was “unbelievable” with emotional scenes and reunions.
There were around 1000 arrivals on Saturday and again on Sunday.
“It’s still a long way to get back to where we were, in 2019, when we did about 17,000 passengers daily so there’s still a lot of recovery to do.”
Image: Nine News