Curfew breaches risk $1m fine
THE Emirates airline could face fines of more than $1 million for multiple breaches of the Sydney Airport curfew after it defied repeated warnings by air traffic control not to fly after 11pm.
The federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport is investigating three breaches by Emirates, and has strong hopes of a successful prosecution for two of the incidents.
The most glaring breach of the curfew - which is intended to prevent planes taking off or arriving at Sydney Airport between 11pm and 6am - occurred on January 8.
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The department will allege Emirates flight EK413 from Sydney to Dubai departed well after 11pm despite being refused permission many times during the day to do so.
It is understood several airlines requested permission to breach the curfew that night, after flights were delayed for wet weather. But they were denied permission on the grounds the airlines were given plenty of warning they might not be able to depart.
The Emirates flight, however, departed some time after 11.15pm despite being denied permission.
The maximum fine for a breach of Sydney Airport's curfew is $550,000.
Emirates has provided a detailed response to the department about the breaches. The department will provide a brief to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will then have to decide whether to press charges.
If Emirates were charged, it would be the first time an airline has been prosecuted for a breach of the Sydney Airport curfew since Jetstar was prosecuted in 2007 over a flight that left Mascot at 11.28pm.
The federal Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, said: ''The curfew at Sydney Airport is not optional. It is a legal requirement, which the community expects to be enforced.''
Mr Albanese, whose inner-west electorate of Grayndler suffers heavily from aircraft noise, has long maintained that Sydney needs a second airport.
But a study commissioned by Mr Albanese two years ago, due to report in weeks, is unlikely to propose an imminent solution to Sydney's airport noise woes.
The study is likely to entrench the role of Mascot as Sydney's main airport, recommend improved transport links to Mascot and suggest alternatives for a possible future second site.
The study will state the most attractive site remains Badgerys Creek, which the government has ruled out. Wilton, in the south-west, is likely to be the second-most attractive site.
A spokeswoman for Emirates said the January 8 flight was delayed because of fuel delivery problems caused by a thunderstorm. She said the airline decided to continue the flight to limit any inconvenience to passengers.
"Only on rare occasions such as this does the airline seek dispensations, and when doing so follows the normal process,'' the spokeswoman said, adding the airline was discussing the regulations with authorities and could not comment further.
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Curfew breaches risk $1m fine