Plane Sense - Official Information Act Requests

Official Information Act (OIA) Requests

If any additional OIA requests or questions are identified please contact us at planesensewellington@gmail.com, so as a group we can collate and distribute information to interested parties. Have questions? - check out our FAQs here.

19 September 2023

Please can you send all documents and emails in Airways' possession related to alternative flight path options, considered and/or presented alongside the DMAPS 4 track option, including any electronic or other design material held by Aeropath. Also, any documents showing analysis and/or comparison of the options from a technical and/or noise abatement standpoint. Please include any material discussing the options, preferences and benefits to all interested parties, including the public/local community.

In a previous response, Airways stated that "The design process for Wellington Airport was that Airways considered a very complex range of factors and potential theoretical concepts for the best overall solution and proceeded directly to the design of that system". However this email and presentation indicate that an/other option/s were explored - "Understanding the potential roadblock of the local community, (redacted) has designed an alternate solution which relies on 3 tracks in the Northerly direction, as opposed to the 4 we presented".

22 MAY 2023

To the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA):
We are a residents’ group seeking to have the Wellington Airport jet aircraft runway 34 departure track over the harbour reinstated as soon as possible. We understand the current DMAPS involves tightening up the gaps between arrivals and departures and this produces an increased risk of an arriving aircraft (if there is one) having to do a missed approach. Could you please advise whether this subject is dealt with in any ICAO standards, recommended practices, procedures, or other ICAO guidance material. If so would you please provide us with relevant extracts from the ICAO documents. Could you also please advise if the WN Airport DMAPS is ICAO compliant or not.

15 MAY 2023

What is the total number of flights that have departed Wellington Airport 1 December 2021- 31 March 2022 and 1 December 2022- 31 March 2023? Please provide numbers for each date set separately.

What is the total number of flights that have had airbourne delays when arriving at Wellington Airport between1 December 2021- 31 March 2022 and 1 December 2022- 31 March 2023? Please provide numbers for each date set separately.

What is the total number of flights that have had ground delays when arriving at Wellington Airport between1 December 2021- 31 March 2022 and 1 December 2022- 31 March 2023? Please provide numbers for each date set separately.

What is the total number of go-arounds/missed approaches that have had to take place 1 December 2021 - 31 March 2022 and 1 December 2022- 31 March 2023?

Please provide numbers for each date set separately.

What is the total number of visual circuits that have had to take place 1 December 2021 - 31 March 2022 and 1 December 2022- 31 March 2023?

Please provide numbers for each date set separately.

What alternative flight path options were presented alongside the DMAPS 4 track option? Please provide details of each of the options presented, who they were presented to, what information was used to select the final DMAPs path that was released 1 Dec 2022.

What efficiencies have Airways calculated between the dates of December 2022- 31 March 2023 from DMAPs? Please provide a comparison of these numbers to 1 December 2021- 31 March 2022.

Please provide all communications between Airways and the NZ Airline Pilot Association about DMAPs at Christchurch Airport, Wellington Airport and Auckland Airport including but not limited to feedback, perceived advantages, opinions and uptake and concerns.

Did Airways consider any alternatives to DMAPS in Wellington? If so, please provide all relevant information.

Have visual circuit go-arounds occurred since DMAPS was implemented in Wellington? If yes, please provide details on the paths taken.

Please provide information on the minimum and median altitude of aircraft departing to the north over Khandallah, Broadmeadows and Johnsonville under DMAPS.

Please provide information on the minimum and median altitude of aircraft departing Wellington to the North prior to DMAPS (ie over Newlands, Paparangi).

Please provide information on the minimum and median altitude of aircraft arriving in Wellington over Paparangi, Newlands and Johnsonville for 2021, 2022 and 2023 (to date).

Did Airways calculate the number of affected households in Wellington under DMAPS? If so, please provide this figure and any related correspondence or minutes.

Did Airways calculate the number of affected households in Wellington before DMAPs, under the old flight path? If so, please provide this figure and any related correspondence or minutes.

Did Airways consider section 4(1)(c) of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 prior to implementing DMAPS? If so, please provide all relevant information including any correspondence or minutes that shows Airways took the interests of the community into account.

Please provide any communication between Wellington International Airport and Airways regarding the response to Plane Sense requests and questions.

5 April 2023

In order to meet our deadline to update our members and to offer full transparency, Plane Sense is choosing to publish the Official Information Act requests sent to Airways by members of the group. Plane Sense feels it is important to disclose this information to our members as we have received a notification from Airways of an extension, a further 22 days - 5 May 2023.

Category - Wellington International Airport Limited (WIAL):

Did Airways correspond or discuss with Wellington International Airport Limited as to the Wellington Divergent Missed Approach Protection System (DMAPS) prior to the system coming into effect on 1 December 2022? If so, please provide all correspondence relevant to DMAPS.

Did Airways correspond or discuss with Wellington International Airport Limited as to the Wellington DMAPS after the system came into effect on 1 December 2022? If so, please provide all correspondence relevant to DMAPS.

Category - Wellington City Council (WCC):

Did Airways correspond or discuss with Wellington City Council as to the DMAPS prior to the system coming into effect on 1 December 2022? If so, please provide all correspondence relevant to DMAPS.

Did Airways correspond or discuss with Wellington City Council as to the DMAPS after the system came into effect on 1 December 2022? If so, please provide all correspondence relevant to DMAPS.

Category - Airlines:

Did Airways correspond or discuss with any airlines (including Air New Zealand, Qantas and JetStar) as to the DMAPS prior to the system coming into effect on 1 December 2022? If so, please provide all correspondence relevant to DMAPS.

Did Airways correspond or discuss with any airlines (including Air New Zealand, Qantas and JetStar) as to the DMAPS after the system came into effect on 1 December 2022? If so, please provide all correspondence relevant to DMAPS.

Category - Divergent Paths:

Is the Divergent Missed Approach Protection System (DMAPS) used in other Airports in New Zealand?

· If so, which airports use DMAPS? Please provide maps of those paths.

· In other uses of DMAPS in New Zealand does the diverging aircraft (ie the plane that has to go-around) follow the new flight path? In other words, when the system was introduced to other airports was there a significant change in flight paths for most flights, or only for those flights that had to do a go-around? Please provide any relevant documents on this matter.

What percentage of Wellington flights need to do a go-around? Please provide any information relevant to this question.

· Has the DMAPS been applied to aircraft departing to the South in Wellington?

· If so, please provide maps of those paths. Please provide any relevant information

· If not, why not? Please provide any relevant information.

Under the DMAPS are aircraft closer to the high ground and obstacle at Mt Kaukau than they were under the old flight path (still used for Southerly landings)? Please provide any relevant information.

· Does this pose any decrease in safety for those aircraft compared to the old flight path?

Please provide information on the standard approach for go-arounds in Wellington prior to the introduction of the DMAPS (ie was the harbour circuit used?)

Please provide detail on the amount of go around to the south and the amount of go around to the north for the last 6 months.

Please provide DMAP benchmarking data from other NZ airports (particularly Auckland and Christchurch).

Please provide information pertaining to the aircraft altitude over the northern suburbs including but not limited to whether aircraft are currently flying at lower altitudes over residential areas (as opposed to generally). Please also provide information pertaining to the aircraft's proximity to land and residential property over the northern suburbs including but not limited to whether aircraft are currently flying closer to land and residential property than on the previous flight path.

Please provide details measuring the efficiency of DMAPS in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch compared to previous system flight path programmes and compared to each other.

Category - Emissions:

Did Airways obtain baseline information against which to compare emissions under the Divergent Missed Approach Protection System (DMAPS) against? If so, please provide that information.

Please provide any supporting information on the reduction in emissions under the DMAPS.

Please provide any correspondence relating to emissions and the DMAPS.

Please provide details on imporved fuel efficiency from the DMAPS change recently in Wellington.

Category - Consistency:

How many flight paths are there now for Northern departures compared to prior to the introduction of the DMAPS? Please provide maps indicating the potential (Northern departure) flight paths in Wellington under the DMAPS (including where departing aircraft are cleared to return to a waypoint ie the old flight path).

Please provide maps indicating the flights paths (Northern departure) in Wellington prior to the DMAPS.

Are there now more potential flight paths (Northern departure) in Wellington than before DMAPS was introduced? Please provide any relevant information on this.

Please provide reasons for this.

Please provide any correspondence and information relating to consistency/predictability and safety with respect to flight paths in Wellington.

At other airports in New Zealand that use DMAPS, is DMAPS applied at all hours (ie even if there are no arriving aircraft and thus no need to diverge as there is no chance of a go-around)? Please provide supporting information.

Category - Complaints:

Please provide details of all complaints received since 1 December 2022 about aircraft noise in Wellington specific to the northern suburbs, including but not limited to the number of complaints, issues raised and actions taken.

Category - Board Meeting:

Any board papers, presentations, business cases, or other information relied on to determine to make the flight path change on 1 December 2022.

Category - Communications:

Please provide details of any noise monitoring reports or communications received or undertaken by Airways about the impact of the recent change in flight path in the northern suburbs.

Please provide internal correspondence relating to the change to staff including Air Traffic Control staff and the response staff had to this.

Please provide any correspondence relating to community engagement/feedback before the change and after the change that Airways was aware of.

Please provide correspondence with the Civil Aviation Authority about the DMAP recent change in northern suburbs.

Please provide all correspondence with Frances Chin relating to Stuff communications about the DMAP recent change in Northern suburbs.

Please provide any correspondence with Wellington International Airport Limited about any expected increase in flight numbers following recent DMAPs change over northern suburbs (including impact on residents)?

Please provide correspondence with Wellington International Airport Limited about DPMAPS changes being compliant with air noise contours.

Category - PBN:

Please provide any correspondence/information held in relation to the flight path change in 2018 Wellington Performance based Navigation flight path (PBN).

Please provide details held on process taken for the 2018 Wellington Performance based Navigation flight path (PBN) change.

Category - Process:

Please provide information on you processes taken when changing a flight path such as DMAPS in Wellington recently?

Please provide detail of processes taken for changing flight paths in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland.