Voices raised over ILS noise monitoring

A SOUTHERN Gold Coast lobby group is furious there will be no noise monitoring equipment installed along the Gold Coast’s Instrument Landing System (ILS) flight path.

The new flight path will begin in January, flying over homes from Surfers Paradise to Coolangatta.

The ILS system will only be used in bad weather and emergencies, but Gold Coast Lifestyle Association president John Hicks said Airservices Australia should be monitoring the noise residents would be exposed to.

He said Airservices Australia had told him they had no intention of installing monitoring devices.

“The Federal Minister’s ILS approval specifically requires that Airservices undertake a post implementation review within 12 to 18 months of commissioning, which includes noise monitoring and reporting,” Mr Hicks said.

“Given the high level of community concern around the new ILS flight path, the association considers it unacceptable that there will be no noise monitoring in place right from the start of operations of the ILS.

“We need to see a comprehensive noise monitoring program for at least a 12-month period to cover all seasonal conditions.”

Members of the Gold Coast Lifestyle Association challenged Airservices Australia’s initial plan for the ILS in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 2016.

The association fought against the ILS being used in all weather conditions.

The tribunal decision handed down in March, 2017 ordered that the system only be used in bad weather.

There has also been a change to the southern Smart Tracking flight path.

Two new flight paths, which are wider and use improved satellite aircraft navigation, have been proposed to replace the existing flight paths that now fly over Kingscliff, Chinderah and Banora Point.

Airservices Australia did not respond to questions from the Bulletin about noise monitoring along the flight path.