Former top Virgin executive to head Airservices for 12 months

The OneSKY-CMATS system, which aims to unify air traffic management across Australia’s civil and military airspace, is slated to go live in the third quarter of 2027, with controllers to be trained on the new equipment starting in March next year.

Starting 28 November, air traffic controllers will increase the use of Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS), which would allow more flights to take off and land over Moreton Bay rather than populated areas of Brisbane.

The overhaul is not expected to cause any disruption to ATC services, and will involve life extension on the tower’s infrastructure as well as upgrading internal facilities into a “modern workspace”, Airservices says.