Dear Mrs Irwin

Thank you tor your letter dated 29 October 2009 enclosing a petition from residents of Beechboro about aircraft noise over Beechboro.

Upon receipt of your letter, I requested Airservices Australia examine the issue raised by the residents of Beechboro and am able to advise the following:

The sustained growth in aviation required to service the mining and tourism industries in Western Australia has seen an increased number of flights each year since 2000. Some aircraft departing on Runways 03 and 06 at Perth Airport are required to fly over the greater metropolitan area of Perth, which includes Beechboro.

The flight path over Beechboro is a longstanding procedure. It is only used when departures to the northwest are unable to transit directly through military airspace to the north of Perth. However, recent changes to aircraft arrival and departure procedures at Perth have resulted in some increases to the number of aircraft operating over Beechboro. These changes formed pan of the Western Australia Route Review Project and were implemented to ease airspace congestion which had the potential to impact on safety.

Thank you for raising this matter.

from the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Mr Albanese