‘Our village is dissolving’: Fury over aircraft noise from Sydney’s new airport
Residents near Sydney's upcoming international airport have expressed frustration over anticipated disruptions from flight paths when the airport opens in two years. Their anger is compounded by a loophole that makes residents living just a kilometer from the runway ineligible for noise insulation for their homes.
Local mayors, residents, and conservation groups are intensifying their calls for Western Sydney Airport to implement the same curfew as Sydney Airport, restricting flights between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. when it begins operations in late 2026.
Luddenham residents are seeking noise mitigation support for their village, which they argue will be overlooked because ground noise at the airport isn't considered a criterion for assistance. Although the village, consisting of about 300 homes, won't be directly under a flight path, it's located approximately a kilometer from the airport.
Residents also claim that their village has been left in limbo, leading to an exodus of people due to uncertainty about permissible land use in the area.
During a Senate committee hearing on aircraft noise, Carolyn Wong, president of the Luddenham Progress Association, testified that residents are leaving because of the uncertainty about what is allowed in the area. "Our village is dissolving," she said.
Her group joined others in demanding a curfew on flights at the new airport from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., a redesign of flight paths for the entire Sydney basin, and a ban on the use of reverse engine thrust between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. "To deliberately subject the people of Luddenham and western Sydney to 24-hour noise pollution is not only discriminatory, it is negligent," Wong stated. "There must be provisions for those tormented by aircraft noise, even though their homes are outside the noise contour, to have their homes noise insulated."
The group’s treasurer, Glen Marsden, argued that excluding the impact of ground noise from a draft assessment of preliminary flight paths for the airport disadvantaged Luddenham residents, making them ineligible for noise insulation measures like double-glazed windows. "There are now no residents in the Luddenham village who would be entitled to noise mitigation assistance," he said.
The Blue Mountains Conservation Society also criticized the draft environmental assessment for the new flight paths, calling it "fundamentally flawed" and highlighting the lack of proposed plans to mitigate threats to the world heritage area.
Joanne Carroll, representing Blue Mountains residents, noted that the area experiences low ambient noise, especially at night, and that residents oppose around-the-clock flights. "It has to be asked why the residents of western Sydney and the Blue Mountains are to be treated as second-class citizens, denied equity with the residents affected by Kingsford Smith Airport," she said.
Keith Muir, a projects officer with Wilderness Australia, advocated for flight-free zones over the Blue Mountains, similar to those established in the U.S. over the Grand Canyon National Park.
Maria Partinos, representing residents west of Sydney Airport, warned that people in western Sydney "won't know what has hit them" if a curfew and a long-term operating plan for the new airport are not established. Partinos, a member of the Sydney Airport Community Forum, which was formed in 1996 in response to widespread anger over aircraft noise from Kingsford Smith, said residents have found it "very difficult" to bring about change, even when they succeed. "Even if they succeed, it can take years for changes to happen, particularly once flight paths are implemented," she said.
Blue Mountains Council Mayor Mark Greenhill highlighted the significant change his community will face, transitioning from quiet nights to frequent low-altitude flights 24 hours a day when the new airport opens. "No other areas affected by Western Sydney Airport’s operations will experience such a dramatic change," he said.
Wollondilly Mayor Matt Gould criticized the discrepancy in aircraft standards between western Sydney communities and those in the inner-city and eastern suburbs due to the lack of a curfew at the new airport. "This is nothing short of a double standard," he said. "We need to have consistency between Kingsford Smith and Western Sydney International."
When asked if a curfew was still an option, Western Sydney Airport executive Alison Webster stated that the airport's business case and planning have been based on 24/7 operations. The airport referred questions about noise insulation for homes to the federal Department of Infrastructure.
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