Noisy 727s banned from Australian airports

THE Rudd government will ban noisy Boeing 727 and giant Antonov aircraft from four major airports from September 1.

The new bans apply to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Few of the 727s – too noisy, despite being equipped with noise suppression kits – still operate in Australia, and a search of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority website found only two on the national register, The Australian reports.

Sydney, where one of the ageing aircraft flies trans-Tasman runs for freight operator DHL, is the most affected airport, recorded 396 727 movements in 2008-09. There were 201 727 movements at Brisbane, 12 in Melbourne and 11 in Perth.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was giving airlines sufficient notice to arrange to carry freight on alternative aircraft.

He said the decision was flagged in December’s aviation white paper and a year previously in the green paper.

“It’s up to those airlines to make sure their business is shifted to more appropriate aircraft,” he said.

“It’s simply unacceptable that we have these noisy aircraft flying in 2010 when other options are available.”

Mr Albanese made the announcement as he was inspecting the $100 million extension of Sydney airport’s east-west runway to meet international safety standards.

The work closed the runway for 18 months, and led to concern in some suburbs to the north and south of the airport affected by increased noise.

Source: News.com.au