The Australian government has allowed more business jet types to operate during curfews at Sydney and Adelaide airports, but has not added more commercial jets to the exemption list.
The new list permits various newer variants of Bombardier Challenger and Global Express, Embraer ERJ-135/145 and Legacy series, Gulfstream and Dassault business jets, among others, to depart and arrive at the two airports between 11pm and 6am.
All jets permitted to operate during the curfew must have a MTOW of less than 34t, and have a noise level less than 271dB.
“The list of permitted aircraft introduces a stricter noise standard during the curfew while also providing flexibility and certainty to business aviation about the aircraft they can fly,” says Australia’s infrastructure minister Warren Truss.
He adds that as the previous list for Sydney had not been updated since 2005, meaning that it “only allowed older, noisier aircraft” to operate during the curfew.
Some types, including the BAe 125-700B/800B and Mistubishi MU-300 will not be permitted after 21 December 2022.
Despite the changes to the business jet exemptions, Truss is adamant that there will be no change to the restrictions on commercial aircraft at the two airports, nor to Sydney’s 80 movements per hour cap.
The only regular commercial services flown through Sydney and Adelaide airports during the curfew are BAe 146 freighters, which have a quota limiting the number of flights that can be operated.
Other flights may be permitted on an ad hoc basis, but require approval from the Minister which is rarely granted.
In recent years Emirates and Jetstar have been prosecuted for allowing their aircraft to take off from Sydney during the curfew hours.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
