Professional SKill volunteers

If you have professional skills that could help us, please complete this form and let us know.

Timeline

6 December 2024 

Wellington Airport issues a media release confirming it supports the current DMAPS flight path.

20 November 2024 

Auction for Action!

Plane Sense is running an Auction for Action to meet our $25k by 2025 goal! Support our suburbs today!

How you can help: 

1. Pledge an item - all proceeds will go towards our existing costs for our May 2025 High Court judicial review! Fill in this form with details of your item.

2. Business owners, donate a gift voucher - we will auction any generous vouchers to add to our fundraising efforts. Fill in this form or Contact us.

3. Share our Seller's Listings to get the best possible bids on all donated items!

4. Get bidding! We've got some great Christmas presents listed! Keep checking back as we add more items as they are donated.

5. Donate today! You don't have to bid the minimum, or bid at all if you'd prefer to donate directly. Plus, you're welcome to top up your bid/donation at any time! 

Help us reach our goal and fund legal action, for the health and wellbeing of everyday Wellingtonians affected by the DMAPS flight path change.

18 October 2024 

Plane Sense is aware of a recent NZ High Court ruling relevant to our case and has written to Wellington Airport, via our legal representatives, to communicate this development:

In July 2024, Wilkinson-Smith J invalidated a resource consent for a proposed housing development in which the residents would experience the noise levels our community is currently experiencing. Affidavit evidence by Chris Day (of Marshall Day Acoustics) was given on behalf of Auckland Airport - which was not notified as an interested party about the proposed development. Noise levels during a flyover were expected to be around 75–80dBA dropping to ambient levels after 30–60 seconds - the same levels of noise measured by Marshall Day in 2023 and experienced by the Plane Sense community.

In this case, Mr Day says that the projected noise level constitutes a significant adverse effect for a residential development. Based on community response studies undertaken by the World Health Organisation and Federal Aviation Administration, 38 to 52 per cent of people would be expected to be highly annoyed living in this noise environment. In practical terms, residents in the outdoor areas of the Development or indoors with windows open would need to shout or pause a conversation for 30 seconds every time an aircraft passed overhead.

We have updated our timeline accordingly, linking this evidence in a new post dated 26 July 2024. 

18 October 2024 

Due to some areas not receiving Wellington Airport consultation documentation by the 11 October 2024 deadline, Wellington Airport extended the consultation until 18 October (later extended until the end of October and further for some suburbs until 5 November). Plane Sense notes that the original deadline remains on the circulated documentation and isn't aware of any communication, beyond the consultation webpage on the Wellington Airport website, to create awareness of the change in deadline. As per Plane Sense's survey (6 October 2024 post), those areas that did not receive consultation documentation by the 11 October date were the DMAPS-affected suburbs of Johnsonville, Ohāriū Valley and Khandallah. 

4 October 2024 

High Court Hearing Date Confirmed - 12-14 May 2024. 

This is a huge milestone, and we want to thank everyone who has supported us so far. Help Us Raise $25K by 2025 - donate today.

30 September 2024 

A High Court case management conference took place on Monday 30 September. It was attended by legal representation for Plane Sense Wellington Inc. and the respondents: Airways, Wellington Airport and the Director of the CAA. Items on the agenda were the discovery of documents and Wellington Airport’s current consultation. 

Discovery  of  Documents
Plane Sense has been pushing for ‘discovery of documents’ to receive full and unredacted documents leading up to the respondents’ approval of DMAPS, which the respondents have opposed. Whilst Plane Sense has received some documents via the Official Information Act process, these documents contain large redactions and we know that at least some documents were omitted. 

Wellington Airport Consultation

Plane Sense does not consider Wellington Airport’s current consultation to be sufficient to end legal action, on the basis that there were legal administrative errors in the approval and implementation of DMAPS. There are concerns about bias and the methodology of the consultation process, plus there has been ongoing harm to the community over the last 22 months. 

Consultation dates of note: 

• Wellington Airport’s consultation process will end on 11 October 2024

• Wellington Airport’s legal representation said it will have a position on next steps by the end of October 2024 

At the case management conference, the Judge detailed the following timetable:

• The respondents must file all decision-making documents for DMAPS and the consultation decision by 6 December 2024. These must be unredacted and in chronological volumes, provided to the Court for the case.

• Plane Sense must file an amended Statement of Claim by 13 December 2024. This will take into account the respondent’s filed documents and the outcome of the consultation process.

• By January 2025, all evidence must be filed.

• Noting the harm being caused to residents, the earliest date in Q2, 2025 would be set for a High Court Hearing. 

This provides residents with a clear deadline in which to fundraise to cover our current legal costs and to fund expert witnesses for the case. Plane Sense is looking to reach a goal by the end of the year and fundraise $25,000 by 2025 (25 by 25!). Support our suburbs - donate today.

20 September 2024 

Wellington International Airport has circulated a media release today. 

Plane Sense's response is as follows: 

Plane Sense is currently holding Wellington Airport, Airways and the Director of the CAA to account, through a High Court judicial review. The consultation proposed by Wellington Airport doesn't change our intention to continue with legal proceedings. If anything it makes judicial review more important, to establish in a court of law what their individual responsibilities are and what fair process looks like going forward. Currently, the organisations are arguing no legal accountability for decisions that affect the wider communities in which they operate. Allowing aviation organisations to continue self-regulating when making decisions that affect everyday people, is in no one's best interests. The decision to consult now, almost two years later and only as a result of ongoing campaigning by Plane Sense, does not undo the mistakes that have been made. Lessons have to be learned from what has happened. Plane Sense is continuing to advocate for a reversal of the flight path change with utmost urgency, given the distress that many residents are experiencing. 

Media Articles:
The Independent Herald, 26 September 2024: Wellington Airport Consulting on Flight Paths.

The Post, 20 September 2024: Airport to Consult over Controversial Flight Paths.

1 News, 20 September 2024: Public Consultation Begins over Wellington Flight Paths. (Plane Sense has requested an amendment to the statement that flights have been reduced over Broadmeadows and Khandallah, as the opposite is true).

20 August 2024 

The NZ Herald has reported (paywall), "Whistleblowers warn CAA’s new approach could lead to more aviation accidents in New Zealand", with an employee claiming that "the CAA had “turned its back” on being a safety regulator" and "the director as asleep at the wheel". The Director of the CAA is a respondent in our case, visit our FAQ here for more information. 

19 August 2024 

The Judge’s Chambers List Hearing took place virtually, counsel for Plane Sense Wellington Inc., Airways and Aeropath NZ, Wellington Airport and the Director of the CAA attended. The respondents' claims of defence are due by 4 September and there will be a further case management conference in the Judge’s Chambers List on Monday 30 September 2024. 

8 August 2024 

In the Independent Herald. Support our suburbs - donate today. 

Everyday Wellingtonians are suffering the impact of the change, including children, the elderly and vulnerable members of our community. 

26 July 2024 

In the Auckland High Court, Wilkinson-Smith J invalidated a resource consent for a proposed housing development in which the residents would experience the noise levels our community is currently experiencing. Affidavit evidence by Chris Day (of Marshall Day Acoustics) was given on behalf of Auckland Airport - which was not notified as an interested party about the proposed development. Noise levels during a flyover were expected to be around 75–80dBA dropping to ambient levels after 30–60 seconds - the same levels of noise measured by Marshall Day in 2023 and experienced by the Plane Sense community.

In this case, Mr Day says that the projected noise level constitutes a significant adverse effect for a residential development. Based on community response studies undertaken by the World Health Organisation and Federal Aviation Administration, 38 to 52 per cent of people would be expected to be highly annoyed living in this noise environment. In practical terms, residents in the outdoor areas of the Development or indoors with windows open would need to shout or pause a conversation for 30 seconds every time an aircraft passed overhead.

19 June 2024 

Formal letters from Dalzell Wollerman were sent to Wellington Airport, Airways and Aeropath, and the Director of Civil Aviation, advising the organisations of Plane Sense's intention to commence a judicial review - to have the current Runway 34 standard instrument departure procedures (that require a westerly divergence from the runway vector) declared invalid and set aside. The organisations have 15 working days (until 9 July 2024) to consider their position further before the case is filed. 

Replies were received on 27 June (Airways, including  on behalf of Aeropath), 9 July (Wellington Airport), and 10 July (CAA).

7 June 2024 

Wellington Airport responded to Plane Sense's letter dated 19 April 2024, disagreeing with our position. As a result, Plane Sense has formally engaged legal firm Dalzell Wollerman as solicitors for a judicial review through the High Court, to review the actions and decisions made by Wellington Airport, Airways and Aeropath, and the CAA, concerning the 1 December 2022 DMAPs flight path change. 

19 April 2024 

Plane Sense formally wrote to the CEO of Wellington Airport, advising that the proposed consultation is legally flawed. Plane Sense requested that the Airport advise Airways to reinstate the previous flight path procedure and seek legal advice before responding. 

14 April 2024 

Media headlines following Plane Sense Media Release.

The Post, 14 April 2024: Wellington flight path noise concern prompts legal threat

The Scoop, 14 April 2024: Local Community Votes For Plane Sense To Commence A Judicial Review Against Wellington Airport, Airways & The CAA

14 April 2024 

A Plane Sense Community Meeting was held on Sunday 14 April, 3.30-4.30pm. Invitations were issued to residents by email and within our closed Facebook group. If, as a resident, you are not receiving our updates please sign up here.

10 April 2024 

Wellington Airport's proposal on some next steps, as discussed at the 27 March 2024 meeting, was issued today as a press release. Plane Sense is working with advisors to consider the potential and proposed outcomes of this development. Plane Sense has called a residents-only Community Meeting to discuss this - Sunday 14 April, 2024.

The Post reports "Chance of new flight path after noise complaints"

Plane Sense's statement in full: “Plane Sense met with Wellington Airport two weeks ago to discuss the results of a newly issued acoustic report. We have since been waiting to review details of Wellington Airport’s proposal, to present this to our community. The sound report, which was the result of Plane Sense’s advocacy for additional sound monitors in the northern suburbs, showed that residents are experiencing a significant increase in noise as a result of the 1 December flight path change. It’s unfortunate for our community that a proper consultation didn’t happen prior to the flight path change, and that the Airport didn’t collect comparative noise data before the change. The suffering experienced by residents could have been avoided if that consultation had taken place in the first place. Unfortunately, Wellington Airport’s proposal doesn’t include any guarantee that the peace will be restored to our suburbs or when. Our community has been suffering the effects of poor procedure and process for more than a year now. The right thing to do would be to revert back to what was and then start a full consultation from the beginning, as should have been done at the time. We are reviewing what is in the best interests of our community and seeking expert advice. We will be coming together as a community this Sunday, to discuss next steps and potential outcomes.” 

27 March 2024 

Plane Sense spokespeople met in person with representatives of Wellington Airport and Airways, to discuss the sound report findings and next steps. We were joined by multiple members of Public Health, Diane Calvert from WCC and advisors for Plane Sense on legal and regulatory issues. Plane Sense gave general feedback on the acoustic report (detailed in the below post).

The Airport and Airways are due to put a proposal together on some next steps, as discussed at the meeting. The Plane Sense Inc committee has met and we will consider the proposal and bring it to a residents-only Community Meeting to discuss it.

25 March 2024 

Plane Sense wrote to the Chair and Members of the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee at New Zealand Parliament, regarding the Annual Review of Performance of the Airways Corporation of New Zealand Limited and the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand. Drawing the Committee's attention to a series of governance and regulatory failures within these two organisations. Noting that these failures have important health and safety implications for the residents we represent and others.

March 2024 

Prior to meeting with Wellington Airport and Airways, the Plane Sense team has prepared the following general feedback on the latest Marshall Day report.

In general, the report supports our concerns:

• More aircraft fly over the suburbs than they did previously, with a concentration over the suburbs as a result of DMAPs.

• Aircraft noise is generally louder from Runway 34 than Runway 16.

• The suburbs are experiencing excessive noise levels of up to 80dB.

• Residents are not experiencing 1-2dB (single event or Ldn) change in noise, as per Marshall Day's Feb 2022 report. Instead, residents are experiencing a 4-5dB increase in sound (noting that dBs increase exponentially).

• The Marshall Day email, that the Airport based its decision on (not to consult with the public before approving DMAPs), stated expected low levels of noise at 45dB Ldn and 65dB LAmax. Whereas Marshall Day's report dated December 2023, reports aircraft noise of up to 50dB Ldn and 76dB LAmax. Therefore, the information on which Wellington Airport based its decision was wrong.

• This report is already out of date and noise levels would again increase with the introduction of additional (louder by 5dB) Qantas B738 flights to Brisbane and Melbourne since this data was collected. 

On the downside:

• Averages still feature heavily, including days and hours when there are no flights and across all monitors. 

• Single event noise in comparison to ambient noise (where it has not been averaged) is lacking. Noticeably in the 6-7am analysis when the suburbs are quietest. 

• There are comparisons to noise events that residents don’t experience (eg road trucks). Also, subjective references to 'reasonable' and 'acceptable' are present and irrelevant.

• The Figures are linear and don’t represent the increase in sound intensity, of a logarithmic scale (where sound increases exponentially, such as the decibel scale).

• The conclusions are dismissive (eg,10-17% of people being highly annoyed is not insignificant).

Comparatively:

• The Environment Court has confirmed that a 5dB increase is significant. And noise experts generally consider a 5 dB increase to be "significant".

• Various Marshall Day experts, including the founder Christopher Day, have confirmed in evidence that the WHO curve is the most appropriate as it represents the latest research in the area.

o   The WHO 2018 noise guidelines recommend a limit for aircraft noise of 45 dB Ldn as the research indicates almost 10% of the population are highly annoyed at this level. At 50 dB Ldn its expected 18% of people would be highly annoyed. 

o   The 2018 WHO Noise Guidelines recommends reducing noise from aircraft to 45 dB Ldn.

• Adverse health effects are associated with aircraft noise above 45 dB Ldn. This is consistent with what residents are telling us.

21-23 February 2024 

Northern suburb resident, Barrister and Plane Sense legal advisor, Kim Murray, attended the IATA World Legal Symposium in Vancouver, Canada. Kim was one of the speakers at the event, on a panel relating to airport noise legal issues. Kim spoke about Wellington Airport's DMAPs procedure as an example of the harm that can be caused to residents if airports and ANSPs don't apply the best practice guidelines published by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. ANSP is Air Navigation Providers, an acronym for organisations such as Airways NZ. 

23 December 2023 

Marshall Day's latest acoustic report.was released. 

12 December 2023 

The Plane Sense team has been busy in the run-up to Christmas, as we anticipate a period over the summer when key contacts may be more difficult to reach. 

Plane Sense is incorporating. Due to a new law that took effect in October 2023, we had to wait a while to make this happen. We have formed a committee of residents with a range of skills and expertise, whom we have a history of working well with, to establish ourselves. Being incorporated means that we have a group of like-minded residents who will make joint decisions going forward and we can speak on behalf of Plane Sense.

Failing any positive outcome through collaboration, legal action is a possibility. We have a local litigation firm willing to act for us and we have had meetings to discuss what this looks like. We have been liaising with experts and European agencies to harness their experience and support, and we have also been connecting with legal contacts to support research.

Wellington Airport has said that it will be issuing the Marshall Day acoustic report before Christmas and they will give us an indication of their decision before the Christmas break. We have requested an in-person meeting in the New Year to discuss this with them. We have seen an interim Marshall Day report that suggests the organisations will average out sound monitor data and justify their current position. We have given feedback on the weaknesses of this report and raised this with Public Health and the CAA.

We have raised the role of the Director of the CAA with him, regarding his statutory duty to “Monitor adherence, within the civil aviation system, to any regulatory requirements relating to … public health”. Also the CAA's role as a regulator in approving the implementation of DMAPS. Through OIA requests and our conversations with the CAA, we believe that DMAPS wasn't officially approved through the correct process, therefore making DMAPS invalid. The CAA has asked for Plane Sense to refrain from legal action whilst they investigate matters and we are monitoring this.

We have been in contact with Public Health for several months. Public Health will be requesting the raw data to independently evaluate the effect of the noise data on the health and well-being of our residents. Public Health has contracted an esteemed acoustician who can translate the effect noise has on human health.

There have been severe failings in the process amongst the involved organisations when implementing DMAPS. We will continue to fight this injustice on behalf of our community, and for communities that may otherwise suffer this same injustice in the future. 

26 November 2023 

The last date the Airport instructed Marshall Day to include in their report was 26 November 2023. They will be issuing a report before Christmas and they will give us an indication of their decision before the Christmas break. We have requested an in-person meeting in the New Year to discuss this with them. We have seen an interim Marshall Day report containing sound monitor data averages, without information on wind direction or how data was weighted. We have given feedback on the weaknesses of this report and raised this with Public Health and the CAA.

15 November 2023 

Representatives of Plane Sense met with three senior representatives of the Director of Civil Aviation. This follows our written correspondence with the Director, Keith Manch, regarding his statutory duty to “Monitor adherence, within the civil aviation system, to any regulatory requirements relating to … public health”. We are investigating whether the new flight tracks were correctly approved, requesting all relevant compliance documents to provide assurance about this and seeking the Director’s assistance to reinstate the previous Runway 34 over-water departure procedure.

As we near the end of the 3-month-mark for the first installed monitor, we have written to Airways and Wellington Airport to ascertain a timeline for their decision making. We have requested that the organisations provide and commit to the following:

1. A final date of data collection and the commencement of analysis.

2. Whether the reports will be released separately for each monitor, or together. Noting that the monitors were not installed at the same time.

3. A definitive date for the release of the sound monitor report/s.

4. A date by which Plane Sense will be informed of the organisations' intentions for the future of the current flight paths.

20 October 2023 

On 18 October, Plane Sense representatives met with Airways and Wellington Airport representatives, with Councillor Diane Calvert and a Public Health representative. The objective was to establish next steps and timing, whilst once again raising the severity of the impact on our community and neighbours, and the urgency to resolve this situation by reinstating the previous flight path procedure. In the meeting we raised the wellbeing of the residents, Public Health, noise data provided to Plane Sense in comparison to internal documents received through OIA requests and analysis. Also, data analysis, including thresholds for change and timing for decision making, and what collaboration looks like going forward between Plane Sense and the organisations involved. We also discussed Plane Sense's options going forward and potential next steps. From the meeting, Airways and Wellington Airport have some action points to consider, including possible interim measures and in the knowledge that we have been seeking legal advice. 

How can you help? We are working with experts and representation in certain areas comes at a cost, we are fundraising and appreciate your support. Please, if you can, continue to donate. Neighbours, share your impact story, your experience is valid and we are aiming to increase awareness of the issue. Tell your neighbours about Plane Sense, the more of our community we can reach, the more people we can help and represent. 

25 September 2023 

The fourth sound monitor has been installed in Ngaio. This follows the installation of sound monitors in Johnsonville (30 August), Broadmeadows and Khandallah (4 September). Discussions to install additional sound monitors in representative areas of the suburbs began on 13 March. By 12 April, Plane Sense had 6 locations ready for one monitor per each affected suburb. A maximum of 4 monitors was negotiated and agreed upon on 24 May. On 12 July, Marshall Day began an inspection of the sites.  For a full timeline (regarding sound monitor installation) please see our 19 July 2023 post.

Residents are understandably frustrated with the delay, especially heading into the summer months when they wish to open up their homes and be outside. Decibel levels, streamed to Webtrak, already reveal that single noise event levels reach upwards of 78dB, compared to ambient noise of around 40dB (when aircraft aren't overhead). The Wellington Airport commissioned Marshall Day report (published post-DMAPS on 14 February 2023), reported a 1-2dB general increase in noise (pre to post DMAPS comparison). The new monitors are recording single aircraft events at similar noise levels to the Air Noise Boundary suburbs, where residents are compensated by the Quieter Homes Package. Decibel levels are like the Richter scale, an increase in decibels results in noise level intensity increasing exponentially. Residents have been living with the health and wellbeing effects of the flight path change for 9 months and are angry that sound monitors have been delayed to this extent, ultimately delaying a satisfactory conclusion and causing ongoing harm to the community. 

19 September 2023 

Plane Sense wrote to the Director of Civil Aviation, at the Civil Aviation Authority. Regarding the Director's statutory duty (section 72I(3)(c)(iii) of the Civil Aviation Act 1990) to “Monitor adherence, within the civil aviation system, to any regulatory requirements relating to … public health”. Seeking assistance to reinstate the previous Runway 34 over-water departure procedure.

Plane Sense also wrote to Airways and Wellington Airport to seek assurance that preemptive work is being done now to ensure that DMAPS can be disestablished, and the previous departure path can be reinstated, by 1 December 2023 at latest.

12 September 2023 

To date, 3 out of the 4 sound monitors have been installed in the northern suburbs (Johnsonville, Broadmeadows and Khandallah). The first monitor (in Johnsonville) was installed on 30 August. The monitor in Ngaio is yet to be installed. Noise data is being streamed to Webtrak, where ambient noise (as low as 39dB)  and aircraft noise (as high as 78dB) is now visible. As with the earthquake Richter scale, decibel levels increase exponentially.

1 September 2023 

Since March 2023, Plane Sense has requested, received and analysed documentation from Airways, in line with the Official Information Act.  You can read our requests here. In analysing this information, Plane Sense has become aware of relevant documentation that was omitted from Airways' responses. This information is key to the understanding of timelines, deadlines and time pressures in the approval of DMAPS. Also, the level of knowledge Wellington Airport and Airways had about the increase in noise for the northern suburbs. And, for an understanding of alternative options that could have presented a different outcome for residents. Plane Sense has offered Wellington Airport and Airways the opportunity to comment on and/or clarify the series of events we have deduced from this documentation, before posting it. Wellington Airport and Airways have not provided any clarification or comment. This timeline is in full below and we have amended this page to include these relevant events within our overall timeline. Without comment from Wellington Airport or Airways, this information is as accurate as the information we hold to date (1 September 2023). 

• October 2021, DMAPS was presented by Airways to Wellington Airport.

• 3 November 2021, Wellington Airport stated, "WIAL is committed to collaborate with you to set up a proper consultation/communication plan. We have an Air Noise Committee planned in March 2022, and that is probably the best place/time to start the external comms process. That gives us a few months to prepare for it". (DMAPS wasn't mentioned in any of the Air Noise Committee minutes until March 2023. The Committee doesn't include northern suburb representatives.)

• 19 November 2021, seeking the Airport's support, Airways stated, "We appreciate there may be time required to complete the noise community work, and this may cause delay to a possible implementation in December 2022".

• 19 November 2021, a (less disruptive) alternative system was mentioned. A communication states: "Understanding the potential roadblock of the local community, (blank) has designed an alternate solution which relies on 3 tracks in the Northerly direction, as opposed to the 4 we presented. These revised tracks closely align with current tracks and will significantly reduce the movement of any noise profiles. It does come with a reduction in efficiency, however it still represents an improvement over what exists today. The decision is obviously yours, however I would respectfully suggest pursuing the more beneficial 4 track design initially, with an ability to “fall-back” to the 3 track model if unsuccessful". 

• 8 March 2022, support was sought again. Airways stated, "It would be great if we can achieve proposed WN DMAPS benefits sooner rather than later".

• 24 March 2022, Wellington Airport commissioned Marshall Day to complete a noise assessment, "I mentioned to you earlier in the week about an Airways Project, known as DMaps, which will slightly adjust the departure tracks...Ultimately it will push the runway capacity in bad weather conditions up from 13 arrivals an hour towards 21...We are looking at getting an acoustic assessment as to what this means in terms of the noise profile for residents in and around the adjusted departure track...The outcome of this noise assessment is to work out what level of community consultation we will need to take...Airways would like this implemented in December this year. We therefore need this work reasonably quickly!".

• 5 April 2022, Airways emailed the Airport about a potential communications plan. This email suggested that awareness increases perception of change and reminded recipients that material captured by Airways is subject to OIA. It also suggests a communications plan in the next 2 weeks (so far this plan has not been seen by Plane Sense and should have been captured by our OIA requests). This email includes a range of engagement options that we believe didn't happen, it also states that the responsibility to engage is the Airport's. This was 5 months before the 1 September publishing cut-off for a 1 December implementation of DMAPS.

• 11 April 2022, Airways (following up with the Airport) stated, "A key point will be consideration of community engagement: we know that the airport noise contours won’t be impacted, and there should be minimal impact on residents from the flightpath changes – but of course impact frequently comes down to perception, influenced by publicity / awareness".

• 2 August 2022, Airways reminded Wellington Airport and set an approval deadline of 10 August. 

• 9 August 2022, the Airport responded to Airways, just 24 hours after it received an email from Marshall Day stating 'initial outcomes' of a noise assessment. 10 months after DMAPS was presented to Wellington Airport, 5 months after commissioning an acoustics report, Wellington Airport approved DMAPS with 'initial outcome' information, "with more to come" and an assurance from Marshall Day that "on paper" noise levels are "pretty low" and "the effects would be considered reasonable" despite "affecting more houses". 

• 12 August 2022, Airways announced to recipients "A big milestone for a key enhancement for Wellington International Airport". No public consultation had taken place.

• 1 December 2022, DMAPS was implemented.

• 20 December 2022, a first public announcement of DMAPS was made on the Airport website, around the time that complaints from residents began coming in. To date, many residents have suffered exacerbated physical and health conditions and been negatively affected as a result of the flight path change.

24 August 2023 

Two months on from the Community Meeting, the Plane Sense community is still waiting for the installation of sound monitors in the northern suburbs. We have not been given a definitive installation date, however Airways' DMAPS webpage has been updated notifying visitors that Wellington Airport expects to receive the noise monitoring results in November (recently updated from October). Plane Sense has provided feedback on the proposed Marshall Day data report and has requested the raw data for independent analysis, for transparency and to reassure residents. We have received an initial response indicating that these requests may be declined. 

Plane Sense has met with a litigation lawyer. We have informed Wellington Airport and Airways that we are looking into the various health impacts of the new flight path on residents and that "with regard to noise, toxicity and effect on property values we have started the process of considering possible class action compensation for residents for the period from 1 December 2022 until the SID is reinstated to its previous track" (SID = Standard Instrument Departure Route). We are currently fundraising to assist with the cost of legal representation. Donate today.

Plane Sense has engaged the health protection officers at Te Whatu Ora National Public Health Service to discuss our concerns. The public health team have subsequently contracted an independent consultant to review the information we have collected and what modelling and monitoring data might be available through the airport company. They will then provide the Public Health Service with advice on the health impact for residents due to the new flight path. We look forward to keeping you informed once we hear more from Public Health. 

The People Beneath The Path webpage remains our most visited page on our website. This page documents personal accounts of suffering as a result of the flight path change. The stories reveal the very real impact on residents' lives, as they wait for the sound monitor to be installed and the collection and review of 3 months' data. Neighbours are being invited to submit their story. 

Through the analysis of OIA responses, Plane Sense has acquired additional information of note and has been able to build a timeline of events leading up to the approval of DMAPS. This timeline has been submitted to Wellington Airport and Airways for comment before we update our timeline. A further update on this will be communicated via this page on 1 September. Watch this space. 

Plane Sense has also submitted relevant information to BARNZ, NZ Airports Association, the Mayor of Wellington, all WCC Councillors and our local MP.

Furthermore, Plane Sense has been communicating with international organisations that support communities pushing back on aircraft noise. We are exploring these connections further to understand how they might help us going forward. 

Wellington Airport:

Sound monitor update: "Contractors are targeting 30 August for installation of the noise monitors". 

Data update: "We don’t see any need for raw data, and won’t be requesting it. The proposed report is very comprehensive and will provide more than enough information for both our review and your own purposes".

19 July 2023 

Plane Sense is waiting to hear when additional sound monitors will be installed at the 4 resident addresses. Marshall Day has inspected each of the addresses. Plane Sense has been informed that 3 months of data will be used to gain an objective understanding of the level of noise being experienced by the residents, before considering any next steps. Plane Sense has requested access to downloadable raw data from each monitor to review independently, and is waiting for confirmation of this. Read how the increased noise is effecting residents every day.

Further information on the timeframe of the sound monitors: 

13 March 2023 - Additional sound monitors were requested at the preliminary meeting between Plane Sense and Wellington Airport/Airways. Plane Sense advocated for 1 sound monitor per suburb (6 in total), as was the case for the 2018 PBN flight path trial (the PBN trial included the collection of benchmark data prior to the trial commencing). 

12 April 2023 -  Plane Sense had locations ready for 6 monitors by this date. 

16 April 2023 - Plane Sense first requested access to the data from the monitors to review independently. 

3 May 2023 - Wellington Airport proposed 2 additional monitors and Plane Sense negotiated for more than this. 

24 May 2023 - Wellington Airport proposed 4 monitors in total (3 additional - as the original monitor will be moved). 

8 June 2023 - Following a request for specific addresses,  Plane Sense sent these (after confirming with residents they were happy with us passing on contact details, as per our Privacy Policy). 

17 June 2023 - At the Community Meeting, an Airways representative agreed that each suburb could be represented, offering additional monitors, including leaving the original monitor in place so as not to compromise data collection from its location. 

23 June 2023 - The offer of the additional monitors (at the Community Meeting) was retratced. 

12 July 2023 - Marshall Day began an inspection of the sites. 

17 July 2023 - Plane Sense repeated our request to have access to downloadable raw data to review independently and is waiting for confirmation of this, and confirmation of the installation date of the monitors.

10 July 2023 

Following the community meeting, Plane Sense has engaged in conversations with Airways, Wellington Airport and the Wellington City Council to establish next steps. We have reinforced the human impact and suffering being caused by the flight path change and reiterated our request - to reinstate the over-water Runway 34 procedure.

Since the community meeting on 17 June, we have launched our 'People Beneath the Path' page with close to 30 human impact stories (to date). We have sought support from health professionals, communicated with the Mayor and Wellington City Councillors, and our issue has been raised with the Wellington Airport Board.

Airways, Wellington Airport and the Wellington City Council are keen to review new data from the installation of 4 sound monitors in the suburbs. Plane Sense was unable to get agreement for 6 – which would have placed 1 monitor per suburb. Plane Sense has selected the site for each monitor and had these locations checked with our own professionals. Wellington Airport has also confirmed the suitability of these locations with Marshall Day. These sound monitors are in the country, we expect the residents at these addresses to be contacted and for installation to happen soon. We understand from Wellington Airport that Plane Sense will have access to noise data, and it will be made available live via Webtrak. We are sending Wellington Airport our input into the analysis - the criteria we would like to see included in the report, and we will be requesting confirmation that they can accommodate this.

20 June 2023 

Despite feeling united by the Community Meeting just 2 days before, residents are plunged back into the day to day impact of the flight path change. Just hours after voicing how the early morning flights are impacting the community, residents experience consecutive flights within a couple of minutes of each other in the dark and early hours of Monday and Tuesday morning. Leaving neighbours feeling increasingly desperate and fearful of the future, when pre-covid international flights reach 100%.

Monday: 6.11am Air New Zealand flight to Auckland, 6.12am Air New Zealand flight to Melbourne and 6.14am Qantas flight to Sydney. 

Tuesday: 6.07am Qantas flight to Sydney, 6.10am Air New Zealand flight to Auckland and 6.11am Air New Zealand flight to Melbourne. 

Read how these flights are impacting our neighbours across our community.

18 June 2023 

Over the last 3 months, Plane Sense has been negotiating with Wellington Airport the installation of additional noise monitors in the affected suburbs. Discussions settled on 3 additional sound monitors (4 in total, as it was proposed the original monitor on Homebush Road would be moved). Wellington Airport has received the addresses of residents volunteering to temporarily home these, in the suburbs of Johnsonville, Broadmeadows, Khandallah and Ngaio and we are waiting for them to get in touch.

 Following the community meeting on 17 June 2023, Airways has offered to increase the number of monitors negotiated, to include all suburbs - Crofton Downs and Ōhāriu Valley, leaving the original monitor in place to continue to collect data from the original source. The monitors will be in place for 3 months, data will be available live via Webtrak and the Plane Sense team has requested input into the criteria that is reported (eg. reporting averages for flight hours vs 24 hours). We will have access to the data to analyse it independently.  

We would like to thank Wellington Airport and Airways representatives - James, Jamie and Jenna, for attending to hear residents' concerns. We would also like to thank Amba Branding for donating our Plane Sense team t-shirts and Collective, for providing the Community Hub, an amazing venue available to the public for free.

Key points from Plane Sense can be found on the 'What We Know So Far' pages of our presentation (pages 11-13). 

Plane Sense is calling for Airways and Wellington Airport to reinstate the over-water departure procedure for Runway 34, as a matter of urgency.

13 June 2023 

Airways sent a letter by email to Plane Sense advising that the 20 working day OIA (15 May 2023) deadline will not be met. Airways notified members of an extension, with a response to OIA requests by 11 July 2023  - within 41 working days. 

10 June 2023 

One week remaining until our community meeting, at the Collective Community Hub in Johnsonville, 2-30pm-4pm. RSVP here. 

We have invited local and political representatives of the area to attend, to hear our concerns. Our invite has been sent to Wellington Mayor - Tory Whanau, Councillor Diane Calvert, Councillor Rebecca Matthews, Councillor Ray Chung , Councillor Tony Randle, Councillor Ben McNulty, MP Greg O'Connor, MP Nicola Willis, Onslow Community Association and the Johnsonville Residents Association. Representatives of Wellington Airport and Airways will be attending.

7 June 2023 

Plane Sense wrote to the Mayor of Wellington - Tory Whanau, to advise her of the situation as not only Mayor but the Council's representative on the Wellington Airport Board.  

23 May 2023 

Plane Sense wrote to BARNZ , the voice of Airlines in New Zealand. To advise them of our community's issue with the implementation DMAPS in Wellington. Cc-ing the Executive Director of the New Zealand Airports Association.

22 May 2023 

Plane Sense wrote requesting Official Information Act information from the Civil Aviation Authority. Read the full list of OIAs that Plane Sense has asked here.

16 May 2023

Plane Sense volunteers are busy processing the recent responses to our Official Information Act requests. We are also negotiating with Wellington Airport about the number of sound monitors they will agree to install to capture noise data. We are negotiating how long data will be collected, we are requesting a copy of this data so that it can be reviewed independently and have asked about the possibility of this data being updated to Webtrak for live information. We have provided Wellington Airport with the proposed street names and we hope to move to the action phase of this asap - we have asked Wellington Airport to give us a timeframe and are pushing for one monitor per affected suburb.

Plane Sense has launched a Give-a-Little page. This funding will go towards increasing our activities (such as printing) and funding expert and legal advice. Any donation no matter how small would be appreciated and any funds remaining at the end of our campaign will be donated.

We continue to make connections in the community, to help us increase our knowledge and expertise in areas that will benefit our cause. We have some amazing connections already! 

We continue to make connections with local environmental agencies, to establish the impact the change has had on native birdlife locally, and advocate for our green corridor.

We will schedule a community meeting in the coming weeks to discuss this issue with residents, resident associations, local politicians and councillors. A form to register interest in attending will be available soon.

Are you a local printing business? We are looking for support to print more fliers, to reach our neighbours offline, including our elderly neighbours who may still be wondering about the change in isolation. If you can help us we would be happy to promote your contribution to our community. Please email us at planesensewellington@gmail.com.

15 May 2023 

Additional Official Information Act requests were lodged with Airways. You can read Plane Sense OIA requests here.

5 May 2023 

Plane Sense received Official Information Act responses to questions posed about the flight path change, the process and decision made. 

4 April 2023 

Airways sent a letter by email to Plane Sense members advising that the 20 working day OIA deadline (5 April 2023) will not be met. Airways notified members of an extension, with a response to OIA requests by 5 May 2023  - within 42 working days. 

In order to meet our deadline to our members as promised, Plane Sense has published details of the OIA requests sent by members of the group. You can read Plane Sense OIA requests here (page published 5 April 2023).

Plane Sense has also logged some questions with Wellington Airport around the consultation process and insights from the PBN trial, plus briefing documentation and the scope of the Marshall Day noise report.

Facebook group members has increased to 147 members, with more registered for updates via our website. Whilst Plane Sense's Noise Gallery on YouTube has currently more than 6,000 views. Plane Sense is registered as a Community Organisation on Neighbourly.

28 March 2023 

Summary to the Plane Sense Facebook group (in lieu of Airways returning meeting minutes with tracked changes).

On 13 March 2023 two Plane Sense Wellington representatives and Councillor Diane Calvert met with Wellington Airport and Airways to discuss the recent DMAPS flight path change.

It was acknowledged at the meeting that a full consultation did not happen.

Before and after the change in flight path noise monitoring was taken (click here to view report). Whilst the location of the monitoring station has not been disclosed, we believe it to be in the vicinity of Hutt Road.

Our group is still gathering information from Airways and Wellington Airport and in good faith we will carry on conversations with both agencies. In the interim, they have agreed to undertake further noise monitoring at varying locations.

We have agreed to meet with them again in the near future. Date and time TBC.

A flyer drop, to raise awareness of the flight path change and the action Plane Sense Wellington is leading, will take place over the next two weeks. You will also see flyers posted in your local community on notice boards and in shops.

There is lots of work taking place in the background and we will have more information in the coming weeks with the responses due from OIAs submitted.

Thank you for your continued support!

16 March 2023 

Plane Sense launches a new website, to spread the word to suburb residents beyond social media. Residents can now register for more information via an online form and volunteer their professional skills to further influence change. Facebook group members are to be informed of the new website to share with neighbours.

The Wellington Airport Aircraft Noise - Johnsonville, Khandallah and Broadmeadows Facebook page is to be renamed Plane Sense Wellington, with the former name incorporated into the group description.

 The planesensewellington@gmail.com email address is made public. 

14 March 2023 

Group Facebook page members continue to increase, sitting at 131 community members/households with concerns about the change.

13 March 2023 

Plane Sense representatives, along with Wellington City Councillor Diane Calvert, met with Airways and WIAL for an initial meeting. This meeting was to discuss resident concerns in-person, the implementation of DMAPS and the Airways/WIAL consultation process.  Meeting minutes sent by Plane Sense weren't approved.

9 March 2023 

Plane Sense organisers established contact and a relationship with Auckland campaign group Plane Truth, who fought a flight path change over their suburbs, with results.

8 March 2023 

Plane Sense representatives submitted OIA (Official Information Act) requests to state-owned Airways, for documents and communications relating to the DMAPS flight path change.

7 March 2023 

Group Facebook page members double in 24 hours, sitting at 86 community members/households with concerns about the change.

5 March 2023 

Plane Sense representatives met with Wellington City Councillor Diane Calvert, to discuss resident concerns and an upcoming opportunity to meet with Airways and WIAL. 

14 February 2023 

Marshall Day Noise Modelling Report (Update) was issued - the version of the report provided to residents. 

7 February 2023 

Wellington Airport Aircraft Noise - Johnsonville, Khandallah, Broadmeadows Facebook group was established to connect residents.

2 February 2023 

Stuff NZ published an article highlighting the concerns of the residents as a result of the DMAPS flight path change.

26 January 2023 

A first post mentioning the issue was posted in community Facebook pages (by Plane Sense's Facebook group founder). The post mentioned the change and asked residents about their experience with increased aircraft noise. The post shared the WIAL DMAPS webpage dated 20 December 2022, received via an email response from WIAL. (Previous attempts to contact WIAL via the general online enquiry form on the website were unanswered).

20 December 2022 

A first public announcement of DMAPS was made on the Airport website. From that time complaints from residents began coming in. To date, many residents have suffered exacerbated physical and health conditions and have been negatively affected as a result of the flight path change.

19 December 2022 

Earliest known public complaint to Airways (via OIA information).

1 December 2022 

Airways implemented the DMAPS flight path change, with the approval of WIAL.

12 August 2022 

Airways announced to recipients "A big milestone for a key enhancement for Wellington International Airport". No public consultation had taken place.

9 August 2022 

Wellington Airport responded to Airways, just 24 hours after it received an email from Marshall Day stating 'initial outcomes' of a noise assessment. 10 months after DMAPS was presented to Wellington Airport, 5 months after commissioning an acoustics report, Wellington Airport approved DMAPS with 'initial outcome' information, "with more to come" and an assurance from Marshall Day that "on paper" noise levels are "pretty low" and "the effects would be considered reasonable" despite "affecting more houses". 

2 August 2022 

Airways reminded Wellington Airport and set an approval deadline of 10 August. 

11 April 2022 

Airways (following up with the Airport) stated, "A key point will be consideration of community engagement: we know that the airport noise contours won’t be impacted, and there should be minimal impact on residents from the flightpath changes – but of course impact frequently comes down to perception, influenced by publicity / awareness".

5 April 2022 

Airways emailed the Airport about a potential communications plan. This email suggested that awareness increases perception of change and reminded recipients that material captured by Airways is subject to OIA. It also suggests a communications plan in the next 2 weeks (so far this plan has not been seen by Plane Sense and should have been captured by our OIA requests). This email includes a range of engagement options that we believe didn't happen, it also states that the responsibility to engage is the Airport's. This was 5 months before the 1 September publishing cut-off for a 1 December implementation of DMAPS.

24 March 2022 

Wellington Airport commissioned Marshall Day to complete a noise assessment, "I mentioned to you earlier in the week about an Airways Project, known as DMaps, which will slightly adjust the departure tracks...Ultimately it will push the runway capacity in bad weather conditions up from 13 arrivals an hour towards 21...We are looking at getting an acoustic assessment as to what this means in terms of the noise profile for residents in and around the adjusted departure track...The outcome of this noise assessment is to work out what level of community consultation we will need to take...Airways would like this implemented in December this year. We therefore need this work reasonably quickly!".

8 March 2022 

Support was sought again. Airways stated, "It would be great if we can achieve proposed WN DMAPS benefits sooner rather than later".

3 November 2021 

Wellington Airport stated to Airways, "WIAL is committed to collaborate with you to set up a proper consultation/communication plan. We have an Air Noise Committee planned in March 2022, and that is probably the best place/time to start the external comms process. That gives us a few months to prepare for it". (DMAPS wasn't mentioned in any of the Air Noise Committee minutes until March 2023. The Committee doesn't include northern suburb representatives.)

19 November 2021 

Seeking the Airport's support, Airways stated, "We appreciate there may be time required to complete the noise community work, and this may cause delay to a possible implementation in December 2022".

A (less disruptive) alternative system was mentioned. A communication from Airways states: "Understanding the potential roadblock of the local community, (blank) has designed an alternate solution which relies on 3 tracks in the Northerly direction, as opposed to the 4 we presented. These revised tracks closely align with current tracks and will significantly reduce the movement of any noise profiles. It does come with a reduction in efficiency, however it still represents an improvement over what exists today. The decision is obviously yours, however I would respectfully suggest pursuing the more beneficial 4 track design initially, with an ability to “fall-back” to the 3 track model if unsuccessful". 

October 2021 

DMAPS was presented by Airways to Wellington Airport.

contact us: planesensewellington@gmail.com