Official data supports growing complaints about aircraft noise from residents in suburbs such as Gymea, Miranda, Sylvania and Kareela.

Suburbs affected in St George include Hurstville, Beverly Hills and Blakehurst.

Thematic maps published on the website of traffic controller Airservices Australia show flights on this route grew from fewer than 180 in the first quarter of 2008 to more than 1800 in the first quarter of 2009.

Aircraft using the route approach Sydney from the north, before passing over St George and the shire.

They then do a U-turn out to sea from Stanwell Park before flying in over Kurnell and Botany Bay to land on the main north-south runway.

Federal MP for Cook, Scott Morrison, claimed a new flight path had been created by stealth.

Airservices Australia denied this, saying that because the jets were flying at a high altitude before preparing to land, it did not constitute the establishment of a new flight path.

Mr Morrison, who is a member of the Sydney Airport Community Forum, has placed a questions on the parliamentary notice paper, challenging Transport Minister Anthony Albanese to pull the government body into line.

"I began investigating after getting a lot of phone calls from residents in suburbs from Gymea to Sylvania, who had previously not been exposed to aircraft noise,'' he said.

"What we found was back in the first quarter of last year there was next to nothing flying over that area but within a year it had become a major thoroughfare.

"Instead of coming down the coast before doing a U-turn, many aircraft are now taking this inland route.

"I am told the route is now in the computers of aircraft, so it is just automatically set for the pilots.''

Mr Morrison rejected the response from Airservices Australia that it was not a flight path because of the high altitude of the aircraft.