Article Updated 20 June 2025
Lane Cove residents would be well aware of the number of planes in the air and the noise they emit, with it being such a common occurrence, it’s easy for it to go over your head.
But does it have to be this way?
200 Flights a Day over Lane Cove West
If you live in Lane Cove West and you haven’t heard a plane in a while, listen out, as on average one flies over the area once every five minutes – or around 200 a day.
One day this year, 270 flights flew over Lane Cove West.
It seems like an excessive amount, and according to data, it is. Northern Sydney suburbs are far more prone to aircraft noise due to the popularity of the parallel north and south runways which are used over 95 per cent of the time combined, while the east and west runways are used hardly at all.
This was not supposed to be the case, and defies the Long Term Operating Plan (LTOP), which was created to manage a variety of factors in relation to Sydney Airport’s expansion of a third runway in 1996.
The three main pillars of the plan were to prioritise the safety of aircraft operations, keep an 80-aircraft movement capacity per hour, and, of course, share aircraft noise among communities.
To regulate a shared amount of noise over the suburbs surrounding the airport, modes were created. These are a simplified way of categorising takeoffs and landings on different runways in order of direction.
Mode 10, which is the most used this year at 56 per cent, focuses on landings from the north and take-offs from the south on the parallel runways. LTOP recommends 15.5 per cent usage.
Mode 9, which comes at a close second for usage, accommodates landings from the south and takeoffs from the north and east on the parallel runways and is at almost 55 per cent movements. LTOP recommends 24 per cent.
Modes 5, 7, 14.a and SODPROPS operate arrivals and departures from the east, west and south and altogether have only been used 3 per cent this year. Movements from the east and west (Runway 07/25) should be at 28 per cent usage.
Why Aren’t Modes Being Used More Efficiently
The Long Term Operating Plan has not been met: Airservices Australia (ASA), the organisation that operates Sydney Airport air traffic management, has admitted this at several Sydney Airport Community Forum meetings. The explanation is down to flight traffic, updated aircraft fleet mix and weather conditions.
Flight traffic doesn’t quite cut it as the less-used modes, for the most part, don’t even come close to hitting their movement capacities. In 2023, Mode 14.a was available for 2,908 hours – it was only used for 14 hours.
ASA’s other argument is the modelling for mode capacity was established 28 years ago and the other runways can’t cater to the airport’s updated flight mix.
But, this shouldn’t affect the planes’ ability to land on runways either, according to John Clarke, North Sydney’s representative for Sydney Airport Community Forum (SACF).
“I have that from quite good authority, from air traffic controllers, in fact, that the fleet mix is really not a major factor,” Mr Clarke told ITC.
“Yes, large long-haul aircraft do need to use the long (parallel) runways. But, if you look at the noise sharing modes, you look at modes 5 and 7 and 14.a, they do have facilities for those aircraft to land, if necessary.”
While weather conditions, including wind direction, are completely valid, it shouldn’t account for the amount of times Modes 9 and 10 are being used in the data.
With this information, we approached ASA with questions regarding the excessive use of the parallel runways. Their response was much the same as the aforementioned explanations. It was mentioned that they calculated data for North Sydney arrivals and departures from the 2024 calendar year.
Arrivals and departures from the north were reported at 48 per cent and from the south were 52 per cent, with 1 per cent accounting for other operations.
This may seem like a split amount, but it’s not showing the full picture of the data.
To put it simply (kinda)… LTOPs target is to have 55 per cent of flights take off and land in the south, as it is over water and affects fewer communities. This year to date, this number is just underperforming at 51 per cent. ASA says “Noise sharing modes are heavily dependent on weather and traffic conditions”.
Now, this wouldn’t be so bad if the other runways were also being shared correctly, however, this is not the case.
Take-offs and landings from the north are supposed to be at 17 per cent. This year so far, it’s sitting at 38 per cent – with a pretty consistent percentage preceding the years before that.
It is argued that arrivals are significantly louder than departures due to planes flying over multiple suburbs while descending. Ryde, Lane Cove, Hunters Hill, Leichhardt and Newtown cop between 65dB to 95dB for every landing, which, in relatable terms, is between the noise levels of a normal conversation and a power mower.
Okay, Well, Why Does This Matter?
As mentioned, if you live in Lane Cove, chances are you’re used to the noise. All one has to do is look at discussions on ITC Lane Cove Chat to see locals casually letting ‘newbies’ who moved into the neighbourhood know that the sound will eventually be integrated into their lifestyle. A rite of passage for the suburb.
“I just moved to Lane Cove West and the planes keep going every minute and quite low, does this happen every day,” one new resident asked in 2022.
“When we moved into Lane Cove I thought it was unbearable and we have to sell and move but you do get used to it,” a local responded.
“Just moved to the area. There seems to be a lot of aircraft noise today. Is this how it is every day?” Another person posted in 2020 before the whole world was put on hold.
“Yep. Get used to it. Daily @ 6 am planes drop their tires at 2000 feet above Riverview. All waiting to land after curfew,” one said.
“Yep, I don’t need an alarm clock for 6 am the planes start coming in at 6 am. Welcome to Lane Cove,” another put it plainly.
Some even suggested solutions such as insulating house windows, however, others revealed the only thing this kept out was the cold.
The initial annoyance of the sound aside, studies show that constant noise exposure can be detrimental to people’s health.
The average recommended level of noise exposure from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is less than 45 dB for aircraft noise during the day and 40 dB at night. At its lowest, Lane Cove can experience 20 dB above the recommended amount from arrivals – which exceeds the number of departures.
The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Safety Authority states that constant noise exposure above the recommended amount can lead to cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance and cardiovascular disease. The US and EU aviation authority agencies report similar findings.
To limit the amount of sleep disturbance in surrounding communities, curfews at Sydney Airport were implemented as part of LTOP. From 11 pm to 6 am arrivals and departures from Sydney Airport are supposed to cease.
Weekend curfew regulations also state that planes should land from the south on runway 34L, if it’s before 7 am, unless another runway has been nominated by an air traffic controller.
Data collected over 30 days from 14 February to 16 March 2025 showed there were five weekends when planes flew over Lane Cove before 7 am.
At the end of each month, ASA is supposed to report the number of alternative runways selected during curfew regulations and the reasoning for it, according to the Sydney Airport Curfew Act – these are not publicly available.
Some speculate flights are in the air past curfew times because traffic control gives the ‘all clear’ for departure on shoulder times when the aircraft is still some time away from being ready to take off.
“It’s been a more recent phenomenon, something that’s really only been happening over, let’s say, the last 12 months or so, is that aircrafts are being given clearance by air services to take off, even though those aircraft are not in a position to take off prior to 11 pm… They’re still at the gate. They haven’t even pushed away from the gate, and then they’ve been taking off an hour or so later.” Mr Clarke shared.
“I’ll say that’s quite different from the situation where an aircraft has sought a dispensation for some particular reason… This is something that the air traffic controllers are doing that technically accords to the rules.”
Is There Anyone Looking Into This?
Between December 2024 and February 2025, 105 suburbs complained about aircraft noise, according to the Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS).
The organisation’s interim CEO Rob Sharp wrote in a letter – obtained by ITC – to the SACF Chair Sally Sitou MP, that the organisation is in the process of commissioning a review of the LTOP performance.
They shared their content to work with SACF and the Implementation and Monitoring Committee (IMC), to complete the review with the committees and report the findings back.
According to SACF representatives, the review will be conducted by consultants hired by ASA. We reached out to find out when the findings would be due back and received an inconclusive response.
Members of SACF and local MPs have addressed these issues in multiple community forums, not only outlining the failure of ASA to abide by the LTOP but also the health risks associated with the lack of noise sharing.
The previous MP for North Sydney, Kylea Tink and her team strongly advocated the issue for three years before the seat was abolished. This included submitting a Senate inquiry – exploring ASA’s failure to meet LTOP standards – for the Federal Government’s Airport Management Amendment Bill 2024.
The Bill enhanced stricter penalties for airlines committing slot misuse, aimed to deter anti-competitive behaviours like slot hoarding.
It also introduced the ability for the Transport Minister to declare a higher maximum runway movement for a strict period of time in order to manage disruptions to operations.
Ms Tink spoke in the Federal Chamber last November, advocating against the latter, claiming the increase in movements was unnecessary as the airport in 2024 didn’t come close to meeting its capacity movements during peak morning times.
The former MP argued the new Bill allows the Minister to enable multiple recovery period declarations a day with no requirement the runways be fully allocated at capacity or that the flights which were being ‘caught up’ were the ones that were cancelled; fearing the new change will only lead to more inefficient noise sharing in the northern suburbs.
The Bill went ahead with its original intended recommendations.
ASA responded to the Senate inquiry stating it was one of over 700 submissions made to the Noise Inquiry and was considered by the Senate Committee in making its recommendations.
Rachel Rogers, the Electorate Business Manager at Kylea Tink’s office, requested the Noise Insulation Program offered for communities impacted by noise from the upcoming Western Sydney Airport also be provided to those surrounding Kingsford Smith, at the last SACF meeting in March.
She argued a similar program was offered to communities in the 90s when the third runway was being installed, but conditions have since worsened in the decades past.
Regulations, inquiries and amendments aside, Mr Clarke said, when push comes to shove, he can’t think of any other scenario when noise is regularly allowed to scream wild in an urban setting.
“The reality is, I’m not aware of any other activity that takes place in an urban area that would be allowed to generate that amount of noise over the hours in which it’s generated,” Mr Clarke told ITC.
“Tradies can’t use power tools before 7 am… If your neighbour was mowing his lawn at 10 o’clock at night, then you’d be complaining to your local council, and he’d be provided with a notice told to stop. But that’s not the case when it comes to Sydney Airport.”
What Needs to Be Done?
It’s difficult for the average person to uncover and decipher information about monitoring the LTOP.
Data can be reviewed on Airservices Australia Website, but, it only goes back so far and first-timers will need to do some research to understand the information being presented.
Monthly reports, such as the one explaining flights outside curfew regulations, as the LTOP specifies, should be easily accessible.
The government was also required to respond to the November 2024 Senate Committee Report offers multiple recommendations regulating multiple airports.
One of the report’s recommendations was for the government to issue a revised Statement of Expectations for Airservices Australia within six months. The expectations included abiding by statutory noise sharing arrangements in line with LTOP and adequately staffing and supporting air traffic control to ensure noise mitigation procedures are met.
Within the past few months, there have been signs of improvement in abiding by LTOP.
A source told ITC that following the involvement of ASA’s Head of Sydney Aerodrome & Airspace Services, David Binskin, the use of east and west runways as well as SODPROPS has increased within the past few months, showing signs of noise sharing improvements, sources say.
But if aircraft noise in the neighbourhood is still bothering you, it’s best to lodge a complaint with NCIS as a first step. An expression of concern from the community is an easy means to measure the extent of dissatisfaction.
Make sure to make a copy of the complaint and the organisations response and provide it to your local member to shine light on it at the closest SACF meeting. For Lane Cove West residents the local member is Jerome Laxale – You can email Jerome here.
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Thank you to the In the Cove team, our advertisers, roving reporters and everyone who stops our founder, Jacky Barker, on the street and tells her how much In the Cove has helped them learn more about where they live.
