The tourism industry will use its new position on a board set up to monitor Sydney Airport to argue for the relaxation of flight restrictions at the Mascot Airport.
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The chairman of the Sydney Airport Community Forum, John Alexander, told forum members this week that new business representatives will be included in the forum, which was set up in 1996 to monitor the noise impact of Sydney Airport on surrounding residents.
Mr Alexander, the Member for Bennelong, said representatives of Qantas, industry group the Tourism & Transport Forum, and the Sydney Business Chamber would join the forum.
The number of Federal MPs on the forum will also be cut from 13 to four.
The business groups immediately said they would use their membership to campaign for a relaxation in Sydney's flight rules, designed to reduce the intensity of aircraft noise.
There is currently a cap of 80 flight movements an hour through Sydney Airport, or 20 movements every fifteen minutes.
"Our first priority is the 15 minute cap which restricts the number of airline movements per 15 minutes, making it difficult for the airport to make adjustments such as due to fog or high winds," said Sydney Business Chamber executive director Patricia Forsythe.
The Business Chamber, as well as the Tourism & Transport Forum and the NSW government want the hourly cap increased.
But the Abbott government has said it would not increase the hourly cap or remove the curfew on flights through the Mascot airport.
Mr Alexander said the changes to the Community Forum, which meets every three months, would bring it into line with other similar organisations across the country.
