The Australian Government today released the independent review of Sydney Airport Demand Management, prepared by Mr Peter Harris AO.
Sydney Airport, Australia’s busiest airport, operates under a unique framework introduced more than two decades ago, largely to address community concerns about aircraft noise and manage capacity of the airport.
The Review considered existing policies and competing objectives to ensure the regulatory framework remains fit for purpose to meet the needs of the aviation industry, the travelling public and the local community. It also considered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sydney Airport curfew, noise sharing arrangements and the number of aircraft movements per hour were outside the scope of the Review. The Australian Government remains committed to these arrangements that provide protections for the Sydney community from impacts of aircraft noise.
Mr Harris has found that the Australian Government should continue to regulate demand management at Sydney Airport but that some reforms were needed.
Mr Harris made 17 recommendations seeking to improve efficiency and meet the full suite of demand management objectives applied to Sydney Airport, including the Government’s ongoing commitment to managing noise impacts on the residents of Sydney and retaining access for NSW regional communities.
Mr Harris consulted widely and his findings take into account the important messages he heard during those consultations and in the 41 submissions received.
The Australian Government will now consider the Harris Review and is committed to working through the full detail of the recommendations with stakeholders.
Sydney, domestic and international airlines and the broader aviation sector will all have an interest in the proposed reforms and we will work with each of these groups to ensure any reforms agreed to by Government meet the needs of all parties.
When considering which recommendations to accept, we will also consider staged implementation to prioritise any measures beneficial to airline competition and the recovery of the aviation industry which has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Australian Government will provide its response to the Harris Review following its consideration of the full suite of reforms and engagement with stakeholders.
To access the review visit: https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/aviation/airport/review-sydney-airport-demand-management/index.aspx.
