Aeronautical Impact Assessment Services for Development Approvals

Development Applications & Aviation
Airspace Consulting

Strategic Air provides specialist Aeronautical Impact Assessments (AIA) for developments located near airports and flight paths. Our airspace assessment services support planning certainty for projects affected by aviation constraints, ensuring proposals are technically robust and regulator-ready from the outset.

We analyse OLS, PANS-OPS, and prescribed airspace to define safe, compliant building and crane heights, support Controlled Activity applications, and de-risk planning approvals through a clear, defensible aviation impact assessment process. Our clients include property developers, planners, architects, and infrastructure proponents across Australia who need clear, defensible aviation advice that planning authorities and regulators will accept.

If your project sits within airport influence areas or active flight paths, engage Strategic Air early to understand constraints, approval pathways, and realistic height outcomes. Our aviation specialists help you move forward with clarity and confidence – give us a call on 1300 399 426, email info@strategicair.com.au, or get in touch with us through our online contact form.

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Aeronautical Impact Assessments

We bridge the gap between airport operators, CASA/Airservices, and your planning team, translating complex airspace constraints into practical height limits, crane envelopes, and staging options that actually work on a construction program. Each aeronautical impact assessment is tailored to the planning context, ensuring aviation risks are identified early rather than emerging late as approval-blocking issues.

Instead of “airport concerns” landing late in the process and forcing redesign, we identify the controlling surfaces early, quantify the real constraints, and set out a credible pathway for both permanent structures and temporary works. This early-stage airspace assessment approach supports efficient design development and smoother
planning outcomes.

Our AIAs are written to do a specific job: help your DA, SSDA, or Controlled Activity Application get through without surprises. That means clear RL tables, diagrams that align with your architectural set, and a risk narrative that addresses safety, efficiency, and regularity of operations in language regulators recognise. The result is a
report your team can attach to submissions with confidence – and a reduced chance of last-minute height cuts, crane restrictions or approval delays driven by airspace issues.

Aviation Constraints and Controlled Activity Pathways

We assess developments against the full suite of aviation protection surfaces that drive approvals near airports: the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS), PANS-OPS instrument procedure surfaces, and any declared prescribed airspace constraints. This includes a detailed OLS assessment to confirm baseline obstacle clearance requirements, alongside PANS-OPS and prescribed airspace constraints that ultimately determine approval pathways near airports.

This aeronautical impact assessment process determines what heights are free to build, what heights introduce an aviation risk issue, and what heights cross the line into a controlled activity under the Airports Act and Regulations. Where thresholds are exceeded, a formal approval pathway is triggered for buildings, rooftop plant and construction cranes. We document outcomes through regulator-ready RL tables, clear exceedance narratives, and a practical mitigation set covering height management, staging, lighting, marking and crane operating limits. This structured airspace assessment ensures your planning submission proceeds with certainty and aligns with aviation safety expectations. The result is a defensible aviation impact assessment that reduces approval risk and provides clarity across planning, design and construction.

What Are OLS and PANS-OPS Surfaces?

The Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) and PANS-OPS instrument procedure surfaces are the two major 3D airspace constraint sets that govern height outcomes near airports. The OLS provides the baseline obstacle framework for take-off, landing and visual manoeuvring, while PANS-OPS surfaces protect published instrument procedures such as ILS and RNP approaches. In dense urban environments, PANS-OPS often becomes the controlling constraint within an airspace assessment. In practical terms, an OLS assessment establishes the initial height envelope for development and identifies where more restrictive instrument procedure surfaces or controlled activity considerations may apply.

If a proposal penetrates these protected volumes – whether by a building, rooftop plant, antenna or construction crane – it becomes an obstacle issue and may trigger the controlled activity approval pathway.

Practically, we use specialist modelling software to build the correct 3D surfaces from published parameters, lock everything to a consistent datum (AHD/RL) and coordinate system, then interrogate your design geometry with a repeatable, auditable workflow. That includes testing the real high points (plant, lift overruns, screens, façade elements) and running temporary works scenarios – crane envelopes, slew radii, hook heights and climb staging – so construction is treated as a managed constraint, not a late surprise. The output is regulator-ready evidence: traceable RL exceedance tables, drawings that align with your architectural set, and a clear statement of what’s compliant, what’s an intrusion, and what needs a controlled activity submission and mitigation plan as part of the overall aeronautical impact assessment.

Recent Major Projects

Sydney CBD, NSW

MIRVAC Green Square (Zetland) – Engaged us to deliver an Aeronautical Impact Assessment for a multi-building package within MIRVAC’s Green Square program (project value $2.59bn). Our scope includes OLS, PANS-OPS, and prescribed airspace assessment, Controlled Activity Application support, and on-call advice on crane envelopes and staging

Sydney CBD, NSW

GREENFORT Capital – Engaged us to deliver an Aeronautical Impact Assessment and airspace-height due diligence for a proposed development influenced by Sydney Airport flight paths. We assessed OLS, PANS-OPS, and prescribed airspace to set clear RL height limits and crane envelopes and map the controlled activity pathway to de-risk planning approvals.

Burwood, NSW

OMAYA – Engaged us to deliver an Aeronautical Impact Assessment for a high-density redevelopment within Sydney Airport’s broader airspace environment, including Controlled Activity Application support as required. The work assesses OLS, PANS-OPS and prescribed airspace to define compliant RL height limits and crane envelopes and confirms where a controlled activity approval would be triggered.

Our Clients Include

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Controlled Activity Application Support

When a proposed building or crane penetrates prescribed airspace under the Airports Act 1996 and APAR, you’re in Controlled Activity territory. At that point, planning reports alone are insufficient – a technically robust aviation impact assessment is required to demonstrate impacts on aircraft operations and how residual risks will be managed.

We provide end-to-end support for Controlled Activity Applications, aligning development intent with aviation safety, regulatory expectations, and project program. Each application is underpinned by a defensible aeronautical impact assessment that regulators can assess with confidence.

The objective is simple: secure approval on commercially workable terms, with minimal design churn and delay. When aviation constraints affect your development, a proactive approach makes all the difference. Strategic Air’s experienced aviation and airspace consultants provide clear, practical guidance backed by robust technical analysis and real-world operational insight.

Get In Touch Today!

Whether you need an aeronautical impact assessment, airspace assessment, OLS assessment, or Controlled Activity Application support, our team is ready to assist. Connect with us via our online enquiry form, call 1300 399 426, or email info@strategicair.com.auto discuss your project requirements with confidence.

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