Commonly Used Terms

There are many technical terms and acronyms that are used in relation to the operation and management of an airport, and which are used in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Major Development Plan (MDP).

  • 01 Arrival
Zero-One Arrival: Refers to planes arriving on the existing main runway at Brisbane Airport over the city.

  • 01 Departure
Zero-One Departure: Refers to planes taking off from the main existing runway at Brisbane Airport over Moreton Bay.

  • 14/32 Runway
This runway is the smaller cross runway at Brisbane Airport which is capable only of accommodating smaller aircraft operations due to its length, pavement strength and pavement widths.

  • 19 Arrivals
One-Nine Arrival: Refers to planes landing on the existing main runway at Brisbane Airport from over Moreton Bay.

  • 19 Departures
One-Nine Departure: Refers to planes taking off from the existing main runway at Brisbane Airport towards the city.

  • 737
The Boeing 737 is the world’s most popular medium range – narrow body commercial passenger jet aircraft.

  • 747
The Boeing 747, commonly known as the “Jumbo”, is the most recognised of all modern airliners and until the advent of the Airbus A380 in 2005, was the largest passenger airliner in service.

  • 767
The Boeing 767 is a widebody commercial passenger jet aircraft.

  • A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-decker, four-engined airliner which first flew on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse in France. Commercial flights are expected to commence in 2008.The term “Superjumbo” has become synonymous with the A380.

  • Airports Act
Airports Act 1996: This Act is administered by the Federal Government’s Department of Transport and Regional Services.

  • ANEC
Australian Noise Exposure Concept: An ANEC is a set of noise contours constructed using the Integrated Noise Model, based on a specific operating scenario – aircraft mix, operating mode and aircraft volume.

  • ANEF
Australian Noise Exposure Forecast: Australia has adopted the ANEF system, which depicts cumulative aircraft noise, as the standard depictor for master planning and land use planning. The Airports Act 1996 requires BAC to develop ANEF contours for its runway system. The ANEF is a single number index for predicting the cumulative exposure to aircraft sound in communities near airports during a specific time period (usually a calendar year) and is useful for rating compatibility of land uses with response to aircraft sound. Equivalent ANEF values at individual positions around airports are joined on maps to form ANEF contours. The ANEF system of aircraft noise assessment is described in Australian Standard AS 2021 Acoustics – Aircraft Noise Intrusion – Building Siting and Construction. As the title of the Standard suggests, the ANEF system is about land use and buildings rather than about describing aircraft noise.

  • AsA
Airservices Australia: is a government-owned corporation providing safe and environmentally sound air traffic control management and related airside services to the aviation industry.

  • ASS
Acid Sulfate Soils: Acid sulfate soils are naturally occurring soils and sediments containing sulfide minerals generally located along Australia's eastern coastline. In an undisturbed state below the watertable, these soils are benign and not acidic. However, if the soils are drained, excavated or exposed, the sulfides will react with oxygen to form sulfuric acid.

  • ATC
Air Traffic Control: ATC based controllers direct aircraft on the ground and in the air to ensure safe, orderly and efficient traffic flow. ATC services are provided throughout the majority of airspace, and its services are provided for all users (private pilot, military and commercial). Such airspace is called “controlled airspace”. By law, pilots must obey the directions of air traffic controllers when they are in controlled airspace.

  • Avifauna
Birds.

  • BAC
Brisbane Airport Corporation.

  • Baseline Data
Describes the existing state of a particular topic being studied and against which proposed changes will be measured.

  • Benthic Fauna
In oceanography, marine geology and biology, benthos are the organisms and habitats of the sea floor. Animals belonging to the benthos can be referred to as benthic fauna. Examples of benthic fauna include: prawns, crabs, whiting, mackerel, Moreton Bay bugs and squid.

  • Benthic Flora
In oceanography, marine geology and biology, benthos are the organisms and habitats of the sea floor. Plants belonging to the benthos can be referred to a benthic flora.

  • CASA
Civil Aviation Safety Authority: CASA's primary function is to conduct the safety regulation of civil air operations in Australia and the operation of Australian aircraft overseas. It is also required, among other responsibilities, to provide comprehensive safety education and training programmes.

  • Centre Line
The centre line of the runway is the imaginary line extending in either direction beyond the runway threshold which is followed by aircraft on final approach to the runway and is often used as a reference line for determining distance (for example, “From the end of the main runway at Brisbane Airport on an extended centreline to the south, the nearest home is 6.7 kilometres").

  • CHMP
Cultural Heritage Management Plan: Relates to the identification, maintenance and preservation of significant cultural sites which may exist within the boundaries of the NPR project.

  • COG
The Coordinator-General: A Queensland Government office which is coordinating assessment of the EIS on behalf of the Queensland Government.

  • Cutter Suction Dredging
In a cutter-suction dredger, the suction tube has a cutter head at the end to loosen the earth so it can be sucked up more easily.

  • dB
Decibel: The decibel is a measure of the ratio between two quantities, and is used in a wide variety of measurements in acoustics. It is widely used as a measure of the loudness of sound.

  • DEH
Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage: The Australian Government's department is now known as the Department of Environmental and Water Resources or DEW.

  • DoTARS
Commonwealth Department of Transport And Regional Services.

  • EIS
Environmental Impact Statement: An EIS is an assessment of the likely human environmental health impact, risk to ecological health and changes that a project may have. The purpose of the Statement is to ensure that decision-makers consider environmental impacts before deciding whether to proceed with new projects.

  • EMP
Environmental Management Plan: A written plan to undertake an array of follow-up activities which provide for the sound environmental management of a project so that adverse environmental impacts are minimised and mitigated; beneficial environmental effects are maximised; and sustainable development ensures.

  • EPA
Queensland Environmental Protection Agency.

  • EPBC
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999: This Act is administered by the Federal Government’s Department of Environment and Heritage.

  • Flight Paths
A three dimensional (3D) representation of an aircraft route, also known as a flight track (see below), which includes aircraft altitude at any given point along the route.

  • Flight Tracks
A two dimensional (2D) representation of an aircraft route as plotted on a map.

  • GA
General Aviation: GA is one of the two categories of civil aviation, encompassing all aircraft flights other than scheduled airline activity. It includes both private and commercial flights.In includes everything from privately-owned light single-engine aircraft to business jets, police, emergency medical flights, rotorcraft, gliding, sport ballooning and many other aerial activities.

  • Gap Analysis
Relates to any gap in technical information that may exist between investigations already undertaken by Brisbane Airport and the information that was required to satisfy the requirements of the EIS/MDP

  • Geomorphology
Is the study of landforms including their origin and evolution, and the processes that shape them.

  • Geotechnical Engineering
Is concerned with the engineering properties of earth materials, Geotechnical engineers investigate the soil and rock below the ground to determine its properties, and then design foundations for structures built on the ground, such as the New Parallel Runway.

  • GIS
Geographic Information System: A smart mapping tool for creating and managing spatial data and associated attributes. In the strictest sense, it is a computer system capable of integrating, storing, editing, analysing and displaying geographically-reference material.

  • GPS
Global Positioning System: GPS Receivers determine one’s position on the surface of the earth through microwave signals from satellites orbiting the earth.

  • Hydrography
Focuses on the measurement of physical characteristics of water. A hydrographic survey will include the tidal, current and wave information of physical oceanography.

  • ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations, develops the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.

  • ILS
Instrument Landing System: ILS is an instrument approach system for landing aircraft in instrument meteorological conditions. It consists of two radio transmitters, one providing lateral guidance, the other vertical guidance to aircraft approaching the runway for landing.

  • INM
Integrated Noise Model: Developed and progressively refined by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to enable the estimation of noise impacts around airports.

  • MBSES
Moreton Bay Sand Extraction Study: A study undertaken by the Queensland State Government to determine potential future sources of materials for the construction of major infrastructure in south east Queensland.

  • MDP
Major Development Plan: Under the Airports Act 1996 and its administering department, the Department of Transport and Regional Services, in lodging an application for a New Parallel Runway at Brisbane Airport, BAC is required to prepare a Major Development Plan.

  • Middle Banks
An area within Moreton Bay investigated for the purposes of sand extraction for the NPR project.

  • Mitigation
Measures taken to decrease the degree of damage to the environment caused by human developments.

  • Modes of operations
The way a runway is used for arrivals and departures of planes ie. SODPROPS (Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations or DODPROPS (Dependent Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations).

  • N70
Contours showing the number of noise events louder than 70 dB(A) are a simple way of showing how many 'loud' events there were on the average day over areas around the Airport during a particular period. 'Loud' in this context means a noise event that may interfere with conversation or watching television inside a house. These contours are commonly called N70 charts.

  • NAP
Noise Abatement Procedures: These procedures are set out in the Aeronautical Information Publication Australia. NAPs refer to a set of standard flight procedures known as SIDs and STARs. These procedures, also published in the Aeronautical Information Publication, specify tracks and levels for aircraft to fly in the terminal area and are designed in accordance with the established environmental criteria for the location.

  • Native Title
Native title, or indigenous land rights, is a concept in Australian law that recognises the continued ownership of land by local aborigines.

  • NPR
New Parallel Runway project for Brisbane Airport.

  • RAMSAR
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilisation of wetlands, recognising their economic, cultural, scientific and recreational value. The convention was developed and adopted by participation nations at a meeting in Ramsar, Iran on 2 February 1971 and came into force on 21 December 1975.

  • Run-off
Run-off, composed of a mixture of water and soil along with any other organic or inorganic substances that may exist in the land, is the product of other water coming in contact with the earth and carrying matter to streams, rivers, lakes and other surface water bodies.

  • SIA
Social Impact Assessment: The process of assessing the impacts on society of projects before they go ahead. In relation to the New Paralle Runway project, an SIA was carried out as part of the EIS/MDP.

  • SID
Standard Instrument Departure: specified tracks and levels that aircraft use to depart the terminal area. SIDs are designed in accordance with the established environmental criteria for the location and are individually assessed for their environmental impact.

  • STAR
Standard terminal Arrival Routes: specified tracks and levels that aircraft use to arrive in the terminal area. STARs are designed in accordance with the established environmental criteria for the location and are individually assessed for their environmental impact.

  • Surface Transport
Relates to all road and rail transport.

  • Trailer Suction Dredging
Operates by sucking through a long tube, like some vacuum cleaners. A trailer suction dredger is so called because it trails its suction pipe when working.

  • Transect
A transect is a path along which one records and/or counts occurrences of a specific thing being studied, e.g. flora, fauna.

  • Turbidity
Is the cloudiness or haziness of water caused by individual particles that are too small to be seen without magnification, thus being much like smoke in air. These small solid particles cause the liquid to appear turbid. Measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.

  • VFR
Visual Flight Rules: VFR are a set of aviation regulations under which a pilot may operate an aircraft, if weather conditions are sufficient to allow the pilot to visually control the aircraft’s attitude, navigate and maintain separation from obstacles such as terrain and other aircraft.