Why can’t helicopters be banned from flying over residential areas?

Helicopters enable services to be provided that are of benefit to communities, including fire fighting, crime prevention, search and rescue, construction and media coverage. Because of the nature of these flights, sometimes helicopters are required to fly over residential areas that are rarely flown over by other aircraft.

This means that noise can be particularly noticeable to people who are not accustomed to regular aircraft noise. That is why many airports have introduced agreements with operators to reduce the impact of helicopter operations – including flight paths that follow unpopulated routes, minimising hovering and if unavoidable, hovering above set heights were possible and avoiding sharp manoeuvres.

For more information visit aircraftnoise.com.au