Aircraft noise & life
The Airport
Sydney Airport at Mascot made its first official flight in 1920. In order to meet the commercial airport standards, a major renovation was carried out in 1930. In 1936, in memory of the great pilot Charles Kingsford Smith (Charles Kingsford Smith), the airport was renamed Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport.
Kingsford Smith Airport has brought earth-shaking changes to Mascot. In the decades since the airport was built, the lives of local residents have undergone great changes. More and more restaurants and pubs provide people with gathering places. Benefiting from public transportation at the airport, Mascot residents can reach the Sydney CBD in just 5 minutes by train. In terms of economy, the headquarters of Qantas and TNT are located in Mascot, which has brought economic development to the suburb.
It looks like everything is getting better.
However, life always has ups and downs. While enjoying the convenience of life brought by the airport, new problems have also emerged.
Because Mascot is located on the route that the plane must pass, local residents have been troubled by the noise of the plane.
I am a resident living in Mascot. In the past two years, airplane noise has affected my sleep, concentration, and even white noise.
About sleep
At night. I usually finish work at 6 pm and come home, prepare a good dinner for myself, and then watch my favorite TV shows. Before going to bed, I calm my mind through meditation and prepare for adequate sleep. As the night came, everything was quiet. Suddenly, there was a loud engine roar outside the window, and I became nervous after just relaxing. The roar of the plane drove away my sleepiness. I was lying on the bed, eyes open, at a loss.
6 o’clock in the morning. It wasn’t an alarm clock or a bird that woke me up, but the familiar roar of the engine. I originally planned to get up at 7 o’clock, but at this moment I can only stop sleeping in a tired state. Compared to the noise of airplanes, I began to miss the sound of mom asking me to wake up when I was a child.
About concentration
As for me, airplane noise has not only affected my sleep, but also my working, because my office is also in Mascot. I often distract myself at work and have difficulty concentrating. I even suspected that I had some kind of mental illness, but the doctor said that I just need enough sleep. I don’t want to put all the blame on aircraft noise, but it should at least take half the responsibility.
At a working conference, just as I was about to give a speech, a plane was taking off. I was in a daze for several seconds when I heard this voice, and then gave a terrible speech.
Let’s take a look at the distance between the airports and residential areas in Shanghai and Los Angeles. Shanghai Pudong International Airport is about 40 kilometers away from the urban area. There are only necessary supporting facilities for aviation and no residential areas around the airport. Los Angeles World Airports is about 30 kilometers away from the city. There are a few residents in the surrounding area, but there is no large community like Mascot. Obviously, a reasonable airport location should be 30–40 kilometers away from residential areas, not 2 kilometers next to residential areas.
Solutions?
Since March of this year, my sleep quality has been greatly improved, and my mental state has also improved a lot. Due to the pandemic, most flights have been suspended. During this period, Mascot’s aircraft noise problem was temporarily resolved because there were no aircraft in the sky.
The pandemic will end, and mankind will eventually win in the fight against the virus. Even if I move away from Mascot in the future, the aircraft noise problem in this community will never be resolved.
New Hope
The demand for flights in the Sydney region is forecast to double over the next 20 years. Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport cannot accommodate this demand alone.
Therefore, the Nancy-Bird Walton Airport in Western Sydney is planned to be completed in 2026. This $5.3 billion, ten-year project will replace Mascot Airport to undertake international flights. Western Sydney Airport is not built to solve the noise problem of Mascot, but it can solve most of the noise problems by the way.
I hope that in the future, the residents of Mascot can sleep peacefully and welcome the new day with energy.
