SASIG response: Airports Commission Discussion Paper 05 – ‘Noise’
In this response to their Discussion Paper, SASIG recommend that the Commission consider aviation noise impacts an integral element of looking at the UK aviation industry. It believes that a greater understanding of the community response to aviation noise is an essential prerequisite for an improved aviation noise management and reduction regime.
The metrics used to describe noise impacts on which noise management policy is founded must more accurately cover the affected populations, and illustrate the burden of aircraft noise. Additional metrics and means of illustration should be applied in policy-making. SASIG’s response considers these issues in detail.
Alongside improving description and presentation of aviation noise, incentives and disincentives must be improved and applied in the form of higher landing charges, and more generous mitigation and compensation schemes.
SASIG also highlight important omissions from the Discussion Paper requiring the attention of the Commission, i.e. ground noise and noise from helicopters.
SASIG recommends to the Commission that the Government resource annual surveys on the issue of aviation noise capable of supporting policy-making.
SASIG also commends that where clear gaps have been identified in the evidence needed to inform policy-making, not only should these gaps be filled, but there should be a presumption in favour of the precautionary approach, applied relevant to each situation, in order to account for this lack of information.