The Fly Neighbourly Practices and the Noise Abatement Procedures are guidelines for pilots to follow where safe to do so when operating at Shellharbour Airport.
Importantly pilots will always prioritise safety during flight. This may mean that at times pilots are unable to follow these guidelines.
Shellharbour City Council and the Airport Operators have agreed to fly neighbourly practices which state that:
- Pilots use runway 08 (to the east) only when operationally necessary (due to wind direction).
- Helicopters are not allowed to overfly the residential area to the east of the airport at an altitude less than 1000ft (300m).
- Pilots to avoid flight over Haywards Bay when taking off and landing on runway 16/34.
- Air Ambulance helicopter pilot familiarisation training is restricted to practice approach and departures.
- Circuit training to be avoided before 8am
- Night training restricted to north/south runway with runway 34 preferred.
- Night circuit training to cease at 10pm local time.
Further information for pilots is available on the AirServices Australia website
In addition to the Fly Neighbourly practices Shellharbour Airport has included Noise Abatement Procedures within its En Route Supplement Australia (ERSA) document. The ERSA contains information vital for planning a flight and for the pilot in flight as well as pictorial presentations of all licensed aerodromes.
Shellharbour Airport regularly advertises and promotes these practices and actively follows up directly with owners of specific aircraft known to be consistently not following these practices.
Whilst Shellharbour Airport does not have any operating curfew restrictions, the airport is primarily operational from 6:00 am to 10:00pm, 7 days a week.