12
March
2011
|
09:00
Australia/Brisbane

Better planning on the radar for airport online centre

A new website designed to explain aircraft noise in Brisbane is taking the battle to safeguard the long term future of Queensland’s most important gateway to the humble home computer.

The Brisbane Airport Centre on-line website, http://bne.com.au/experience-centre, is designed to provide easy-to-understand information about how Brisbane’s airspace operates now and into the future, including how flight paths will change as a result of the opening of the New Parallel Runway around 2020.

The first Experience Centre of its type in Australia incorporates information displays on the airport’s operations, historic multimedia presentations, interactive maps and a unique Australian-designed software program enabling the community to understand the current and future operations of Brisbane Airport and how these will impact on aircraft noise patterns across Greater Brisbane. It also includes displays on aviation safety, security, border protection, environmental management, and the future growth of the aviation industry.

Launching the site in Canberra this week, Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO Julieanne Alroe said new website was the first of its kind in the world, using software and displays developed in Brisbane and based on the leading edge work of the Federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport.

She said a unique feature of the website was that it allows users to “zero in” on their home and interrogate the system for flight paths, frequency of flights, levels of noise and the percentage of all flights that their neighbourhood will experience in the future.

“We are committed to providing accessible, transparent and dispassionate information about Brisbane Airport, as we believe this is the best way for us to earn the right to operate and grow,” Ms Alroe said.

“The online Experience Centre will be a valuable tool for developers, councils, real estate agents and anyone looking to invest in Brisbane property. Any investor should always be fully aware of the planned or proposed developments that might affect their decisions, and we recognise that it is our responsibility to provide this level of information, and to enable people to make such informed decisions.

“Providing this information will also ensure we miminise future planning conflicts, where potentially unsuitable developments are undertaken in areas that could be exposed to greater levels of aircraft noise that developers or investors might have thought.

“The only way to balance the needs of a growing aviation sector and a growing city with residential pressures is accurate, timely and accessible information,” Ms Alroe said.

The launch of the online component follows the opening of Australia’s first physical airport Experience Centre at Brisbane Airport in July last year, attended by Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese.

Following the opening, Minister Albanese said: “It’s pretty clear that the Brisbane Airport Experience Centre is best practice when it comes to community engagement and consultation, and I commend Brisbane Airport for that.

It is the kind of initiative the Government expects from our airports, who must take the lead in making sure their communities are properly informed about the role and impacts of their operations, and how noise is being managed.”

Ms Alroe said the Experience Centre was a major plank in Brisbane Airport’s community engagement program, and taking it online will be a great benefit for many thousands of Queenslander’s looking to plan their future lifestyles, or just to better understand how Brisbane Airport operates.

“Apart from noise information, the Centre is designed to explain how Queensland’s capital city airport operates, how aircraft are managed, how the airport is planned, and how we are meeting the challenges of growth. Visitors will find lots of interesting facts and figures about the airport, its history and its role. It is proving to be as popular with school groups and aviation enthusiasts as it is with people with an interest in aircraft noise.”

The Experience Centre itself is located at Brisbane Airport Village, with opening hours from 9am -6pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 3pm Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.

Follow Brisbane Airport Corporation online at facebook.com/BrisAirport or twitter.com/Brisbane Airport. Or visit us at www.bne.com.au

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