“I've been here off and on for 40 years and I remember five or six years ago there were more, and then none during the COVID.
“Now they are back. But it's not loud enough to block the TV.
Steve* has lived in Wellington Point “since the decimal currency came into place”.
It was the year 1966.
“They've been coming here, right there, for years [pointing to the south],” he said.
“Steve” (not his real name), who has lived on Wellington Point since 1966, said airplane noise is no longer a problem because planes are flying higher and over the bay's islands.Credit: Tony Moore
“One of my colleagues was a pilot and I asked him, 'Why don't you go a little further into the bay, so I can listen to the 6pm news.'
“They used to come over years ago just when it was on the news, but now we don't see or hear them.
“Now they all go to sea. You can see them at night, but you can't even hear them.”
Chris Torr, 30, lives in Manly West and was trying out a new windsurfer at Wellington Point on a day off yesterday.
Torr hears the planes but says they are not dominant or as loud as Yorky's Knob near Cairns.
“My father lives right there [Yorky’s Knob] and those planes are much closer and much louder than around the bay here,” Torr said.
Mark Guerrinis says planes now fly higher over the bay and around an island in Moreton Bay and are quieter when they arrive at Wellington Point.Credit: Tony Moore
Mark Guerrini lives in Birkdale and works in Wellington Point. He also says aircraft noise is no longer a problem at Wellington Point, despite the jump in complaints.
“It's been a few years since they made the new track, and now I notice that they go out into the water, go around an island, and by the time they get to us, they're a lot higher,” Guerrini said. .
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Airservices Australia said they planned to adjust flight routes so planes fly over the Thornlands forest areas.
“We have proposed changes that will change the current flight path over Wellington Point to cross a less populated area of the Thornlands at a much higher altitude,” a spokeswoman said.
“This proposed change has not yet been implemented as it is still subject to community engagement.
“We predict Wellington Point's appearance in our top 10 Brisbane claimant data is due to this query [Brisbane’s Noise Action Plan]highlighting aircraft movements that led to complaints from people who would otherwise not have been aware of operations in that area.”
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Neither Dr Sean Foley nor Professor Marcus Foth of the Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance could immediately comment on why Wellington Point generates so many complaints.
Foley has released data on aircraft noise over Brisbane for the BFPCA, arguing that low-frequency sound is a “silent killer”.
“The audible aircraft noise that bothers you is not the low-frequency noise that harms you,” he wrote.
The research found that chronic exposure to low-frequency aircraft noise is linked to cardiovascular disease, sleep disorders, cognitive impairment and mental health problems.
*Resident requested not to be named.
