Australia has moved to ban older “marginally noise-compliant” aircraft, such as Boeing 727 Freighters, from major airports from 1 July. The ban will be phased in over two stages with hushkitted aircraft banned from operating new services from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin, Cairns, Gold Coast, Essendon, Newcastle, Avalon and Canberra airports from 1 July. From 1 September all existing services will have to cease at Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth.

“Marginally compliant aircraft are predominantly used in the air freight industry and have been an ongoing source of concern for residents around Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth airports,” said Transport Minister Anthony Albanese.

The changes will impact mostly Boeing 727 Freighters operated by Tasman Cargo Airlines (which operates trans Tasman services for DHL) and Heavylift Cargo Airlines, as well as incoming charter operations. Under the new regulations, flights by Antonov An-124s would also be banned, which could have major impacts on the outsize freight industry.