Aircraft noise in Bulla (3428)
On a typical day, about 249 aircraft pass over Bulla — mostly departures at Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine), below 3,000 ft. Helicopters and light aircraft add another 7 low overflights a day. Estimated peak ground noise reaches 85–90 dB — enough to interrupt conversation outdoors. It ranks #1 of 128 Melbourne 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 Bulla · updated monthly
Where the noise comes from
Bulla hears traffic from 2 distinct sources:
Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine)
live map →242 overflights/day (97%) · typically 1,600 ft
Bulla is Melbourne Airport's next-door neighbour, sitting under multiple runway ends at once: 27 departures climb out directly overhead, 34 departures bank past, and 16 arrivals descend across the valley. Almost every configuration puts something low over Bulla, which is why it tops the area's rankings.
Helicopters & other light aircraft
7 overflights/day (3%) · typically 2,000 ft
Around 7 low overflights a day come from aircraft not operating at a tracked airport — helicopters, seaplanes and light aircraft transiting the area. Light-aircraft counts are tracked overflights only — many training and private aircraft carry no ADS-B transponder, so true numbers are higher.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bulla | 249 | #1 |
| Oaklands Junction | 208 | #2 |
| Diggers Rest | 153 | #4 |
| Wildwood | 131 | #5 |
| Greenvale | 45 | #31 |
Common questions
- Is Bulla under a flight path?
- Yes — Bulla is directly under Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) flight paths, with around 249 overflights on a typical day, mostly departures.
- Which airport's aircraft fly over Bulla?
- More than one source: Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) (~242/day), other low-flying aircraft (~7/day). The breakdown above shows each source's pattern.
- What time do planes start over Bulla?
- The first movements typically pass over Bulla around 12:16am, building through the morning peak.
- Is it quieter in Bulla on weekends?
- Not much — weekday and weekend traffic over Bulla is similar (255 vs 234 overflights 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 Bulla — so noise arrives in multi-day patterns rather than evenly.
Checking a specific address?
This page shows suburb-wide averages. An address report gives you the exact overflight count, altitudes, hourly pattern and noise estimate for one property. Leave your email and we'll let you know when reports are ready for Bulla.
