This time It's our community. Next time it could be yours. 

Plane Truth, Auckland

Residents living in the suburbs of Epsom, Royal Oak, One Tree Hill and Onehunga were caused significant distress by low and noisy aircraft due to aircraft trialling new satellite-guided flight approaches in 2013. Plane Truth challenged Auckland International Airport Ltd, Auckland Council, Airways NZ and the CAA in court for "conspiring against Auckland residents to implement changes to aviation primarily for the benefit of big business". Auckland Airport commissioned Marshall Day for its acoustic analysis. 

Hawke's Bay

We have been advised that Hawke’s Bay Airport Ltd (HBAL) and Airways installed new flight paths over Napier without advising or consulting with affected residents. These were implemented on 30 November 2023, and additional flight paths were implemented in 2024. Passenger numbers were projected to double by 2030.  We understand that HBAL chose not to mitigate the issue for affected residents, instead claiming that the acoustic analysis produced by Marshall Day reports the noise is "reasonable".

Tahunanui Community, Nelson

The Tāhunanui Business & Citizens Association (TBCA) is a volunteer group that has represented its community for more than three decades. It is taking Nelson City Council (NCC) and Nelson Airport Ltd (NAL) to the Environment Court to ensure the community’s views are heard. The TBCA maintains that residents have not been sufficiently consulted about a private plan change. It is one of three groups challenging the decision.

The second group is the privately-owned, 100-year-old Nelson Golf Club, who were told minor readjustments of their greens would be required. But whose buildings will be removed—including the clubhouse/events centre and five holes of their competition Links course. The golf club has been enacted as a public safety zone/area, and the removal of this land (under the Public Works Act) has resulted in community concerns for residents’ health, well-being and safety.

The third group is the nearly 100-year-old Tāhuna Beach Camp (TBC), which borders the inlet at the back of Tāhunanui. TBC’s long-term future is now uncertain, with new noise boundaries covering much of the camp and associated restrictions limiting its ability to redevelop, construct new facilities, or accommodate long-term residents. Nelson Airport has challenged the residential status of the 110 people who live there, labelling them ‘unlawfully established’. As a result, they could not be considered in the assessment of effects and may not be allowed to stay—causing significant stress for this group of residents.

Plane Sense Wellington

Plane Sense has been challenging increased aircraft noise and the related safety, health, and well-being concerns in local suburbs since the introduction of the DMAPS flight path change on 1 December 2022. The change was implemented without consultation or public notice. DMAPS was designed by Airways’ subsidiary Aeropath, approved by Wellington International Airport Limited, and later gazetted by the Director of the CAA. Plane Sense has sought assistance from government ministers and Wellington City Council without result, lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman, and is now preparing for a self-funded High Court Judicial Review to hold the respondents accountable.

The group’s concerns include the respondents’ refusal to provide Official Information Act documentation, the omission and non-disclosure of relevant safety information, opposition to the discovery of documents in court proceedings, and inaccurate acoustic modelling by Marshall Day. Marshall Day’s original modelling, which informed Wellington Airport’s approval of DMAPS, differed from the results of noise monitors installed in suburbs after community pressure to capture actual post-implementation noise levels. Despite this, Marshall Day has continued to describe the noise levels as “reasonable,” while residents report significant impacts on health and well-being—particularly for children, the elderly, and people with existing health conditions.

Plane Sense has engaged an international expert on the effects of jet aircraft noise on human health and life expectancy—an area outside Marshall Day’s expertise. The group has also secured expert witness evidence in flight operations, instrument procedure design, air traffic control, and economics. In addition, Plane Sense has compiled a chronology of reports not originally presented to the court by the respondents, drawing attention to the CAA’s safety concerns regarding reduced aircraft separation under DMAPS.

Guardians of the bays, Wellington

Guardians of the Bays is a Wellington community group focused on the impacts of Wellington Airport. It advocates for communities to be prioritised ahead of corporations and profit. The group has battled the Airport’s expansion into populated areas and the proposed runway extension, which poses risks to the marine environment.

Through a mediated agreement on the Main Site Area and the East Site Area, Wellington Airport is required to demonstrate compliance with aircraft noise conditions by undertaking continuous monitoring in line with the Airport Noise Management Plan. Additional noise monitoring conditions have also been introduced to reduce the effects of aircraft noise within the East Side Area, which borders the Strathmore Park residential community.

Guardians of the Bays continues to monitor the Airport’s expansion, the impacts of aircraft noise on nearby residents, and the wider effects on both the land-based and marine environment.