Australia greenlights third runway for Melbourne airport; seeks to manage noise impact

By Rishav Chatterjee

(Reuters) -Australia's Melbourne Airport on Friday received a long-awaited approval to build a third runway, with the federal government setting out conditions to minimise the effects of noise from aircraft on surrounding communities.

The additional runway is expected to boost the economy in Victoria by A$6 billion ($4.04 billion) a year.

Catherine King, the country's transport minister, said the new runway would allow the airport to cash in on rising demand in the city and provide better access to passengers.

"Throughout my consideration of this proposal, the needs of the local community have been front of mind," King said.

The issue of noise from the airport has come to the fore as more people are living under flight routes and a greater number of flights are now taking off and landing.

The airport will be required to include a provision for a legally enforceable commitment to restore the length of the existing east-west runway in a bid to increase opportunities for noise sharing.

It will additionally have to implement a new program for communities who would be most impacted by aircraft noise and conduct a health study into the effects of noise.

"These conditions, along with relevant environmental requirements, mean that we are balancing the growth of the airport with the needs of the communities on the ground," minister King said.

Australia's flagship carrier Qantas did not respond to Reuters request for comment whereas Bain-Capital owned smaller rival Virgin Australia declined to comment on requests on how the move might affect their operations.

"Airlines remain concerned that the existing infrastructure at Melbourne Airport is not currently being fully utilised or operating at optimal efficiency," industry group Airlines for Australia & New Zealand said in an emailed response to Reuters.

The body flagged that the third runway would be a "long-term" project and that the airport needs to ensure all existing infrastructure is operating at optimal capacity during the interim period.

($1 = 1.4868 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Sonia Cheema and Mrigank Dhaniwala)