Curfew at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport

The curfew

Curfew restrictions

  • Aircraft, other than those to which an exception applies, cannot take-off from or land at Sydney Airport, unless the aircraft is involved in an emergency.
  • An aircraft should not depart from its origin port unless the estimated time of arrival will be before 23:00 Sydney local time. Where the estimated time of arrival will be at or after 23:00, a dispensation should be sought before departure
  • An aircraft that arrives at Sydney Airport before 06:00 must hold until after the curfew ends or divert to an alternative airport
  • During the curfew period aircraft must operate over Botany Bay. Aircraft that are approved under subsection 12(4) of the Sydney Airport Curfew Act 1995 must take-off to the south from runway 16R and landings to the north on runway 34L
    • On Saturdays and Sundays, aircraft must also operate over Botany Bay in the hour before and after the curfew, provided the weather and traffic conditions allow this to take place safely.
    • Aircraft taking off from Sydney Airport between 22:45 and 23:00 must take off from runway 16L or 16R to avoid residential suburbs.

Exceptions to the curfew

General exceptions

The following aircraft are permitted to operate during the curfew:

  • Propeller-driven aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of up to 34,000kg which have a noise certificate and comply with noise standards specified in the Sydney Airport Curfew Act 1995 (the Act).
  • Jet aircraft which have a noise certificate and comply with noise standards specified in the Act, have a maximum take-off weight of up to 34,000kg and are specified in the Sydney Airport Curfew (Curfew Aircraft) Instrument 2015.
  • An aircraft that received taxi clearance from Air Traffic Control (ATC) before the curfew period started.
  • An aircraft involved in an emergency, or interrupted by an emergency. An emergency includes aircraft being used for or in connection with search and rescue, a medical emergency or natural disaster, security or safety incident, insufficient fuel or in-flight emergency.
  • An aircraft operating under a dispensation granted by the Minister or the department in exceptional circumstances.
  • Section 13 of the Act permits a limited number of freight movements each week utilising BAe-146 aircraft.
  • The Act states that once the responsible Minister declares Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI) is able to be used for night aircraft movements, the exceptions relating to freight, propeller and small jet aircraft will cease to apply at Sydney Airport.

International passenger aircraft movements

  • Subject to approval, certain international passenger aircraft are permitted to operate during the curfew shoulder period.
  • The 'curfew shoulder period' means the periods between 23:00 to 00:00 and 05:00 to 06:00 each day.
  • The Sydney Airport Curfew Regulations 2023 prescribe the maximum number of landings and take-offs by international passenger aircraft during the curfew shoulder period:
    • 24 landings per week between 5:00 am–6:00 am (with no more than 5 landings occurring per day); and
    • No take-offs permitted during curfew shoulder period.
  • Subsection 12(4) of the Act states that international passenger aircraft will no longer be permitted to operate from Sydney Airport during curfew shoulder period once WSI can accept their movements.

Penalties