Aircraft noise in Lilyfield (2040)
Aircraft fly over Lilyfield roughly 91 times a day, the bulk of them arrivals at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, below 3,000 ft. Helicopters and light aircraft add another 8 low overflights a day. Estimated peak ground noise reaches 88–91 dB — enough to interrupt conversation outdoors. It ranks #4 of 139 Sydney suburbs for aircraft noise exposure. (Flight Path Noise monitoring data, 90 days to 2026-08-21.)
Data: 90 days to 2026-08-21 · all tracked aircraft over Lilyfield · updated monthly
Where the noise comes from
Lilyfield hears traffic from 2 distinct sources:
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport
live map →83 overflights/day (91%) · typically 1,100 ft
Lilyfield lies under the merged approach paths for both parallel runways, 16R and 16L. On south-flow days a steady stream of arrivals descends overhead on the way to final, already low and configured to land. When the airport switches to north-flow the arrivals move south of the field and Lilyfield goes noticeably quiet.
Helicopters & other light aircraft
8 overflights/day (9%) · typically 700 ft
Helicopters and light aircraft following the Parramatta River and harbour lanes add a modest stream of low traffic over Lilyfield, separate from the airline movements — most obvious on clear weekends.
Light-aircraft counts are tracked overflights only — many training and private aircraft carry no ADS-B transponder, so true numbers are higher.
How nearby suburbs compare
| Suburb | Overflights / day | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Lilyfield | 91 | #4 |
| Leichhardt | 71 | #10 |
| Annandale | 43 | #17 |
| Rozelle | 28 | #36 |
| Haberfield | 20 | #63 |
Common questions
- Is Lilyfield under a flight path?
- Yes — Lilyfield is directly under Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport flight paths, with around 91 overflights on a typical day, mostly 16R arrivals.
- Which airport's aircraft fly over Lilyfield?
- More than one source: Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (~83/day), other low-flying aircraft (~8/day). The breakdown above shows each source's pattern.
- What time do planes start over Lilyfield?
- The first movements typically pass over Lilyfield around 9:36am, once the curfew (11 PM – 6 AM) ends. Traffic builds through the morning peak.
- Is it quieter in Lilyfield on weekends?
- Slightly — weekends average about 16% fewer overflights than weekdays (92 vs 110 a day).
- Why is it loud some weeks and quiet others?
- Runway direction. Wind decides which runways are in use, and only some configurations put traffic over Lilyfield — so noise arrives in multi-day patterns rather than evenly.
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