At the Cannon Hill Community Meeting held on Sunday 21 November, Cr John Campbell said that he supported the Parallel runway as it would half the planes overflying Cannon Hill.
His maths are faulty.
The Brisbane Airport is about half total capacity. Full capacity will occur some time over the next ten years. (Airport Newspaper paid Advertisement, "On present projections, Brisbane's existing runway system gives the city ample takeoff and landing capacity for up to a decade.")
If the new runway did not open until it was absoluted needed, then the aircraft numbers would be double their present numbers. If Cannon Hill were to then to experience half the number of flights at that time you would still have the same number we are already experiencing now in 1999!
There would be no reduction on the present aircraft overflights over Cannon Hill. ALL LARGE and HEAVY aircraft will still use the existing runway because the parallel runway or staggered runway will not accomodate the large, heavy aircraft. The new runway will take the smaller, lighter aircraft and the Cannon Hill residents will then suffer even more as heaver and larger aircraft continue use the existing runway exclusively. These are the aircraft which will not accept any down wind component on take off or landing.
The parallel runway will cost a considerable amount of money and the BACL would not expent this money unless they expected to make full use of both runways. That is about four times the aircraft traffic we now have.
Cr Campbell appears to have no real grasp of the ramification of a parallel runway on the residents of his electorate in which he does not live.
Yes with parallel runways planes can both land and takeoff over Moreton Bay but only under two conditions.
1. When the winds are extremely low.
2 . When the number of aircraft wanting to use the airport does not exceed the capacity which allow in and out over the bay at the same time. This capacity is one aircraft landing every two and a half minutes.
The Brisbane Gateway Ports study predicted over 300,000 aircraft movements per year.
Take the time to work out the predicted planes per hour.
One every takeoff every 2.5 minutes equals 24 per hour equals 576 per day equals 210,240 per year on one runway.
Given the above is accurate, that means with 2 parallel runways, a plane could be taking off every one and a quarter minutes for an excess of seventeen hours a day.
Comment in the public interest made by:
Barry Wilson
Chairperson
The Rivermouth Action Group Inc.
21 Nov 1999.
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