Sustainable Aviation Noise Roadmap

Sustainable Aviation (SA) is an alliance of UK airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers and air navigation service providers. In this report they set out their projection of aircraft noise impacts from UK aviation, based largely on the UK Government forecasts of aviation demand-growth published in 2013, along with their own added assumptions, and how to deal with the issue of aircraft noise as a result.

The report summarises the potential for noise reduction from issues such as: new aircraft and engine technology development (e.g. aircraft design); operational improvement opportunities (e.g. managing noise at takeoff and landing); planning (e.g. current policy and grant schemes to address aviation noise); noise communication and community engagement, (e.g. current arrangements, barriers to engagement, and opportunities for improvement); and finally, operating restrictions (e.g. night flying).

SA believe aviation in the UK is able to accommodate significant growth in air transport movements to 2050 and at the same time achieve a potential reduction to UK aviation’s total noise output compared to 2010. SA say they can achieve this through ‘imminent and future aircraft and engine technology’, and the ‘wider implementation of operational improvements in the use of airspace and flying techniques and through better land use planning in the immediate vicinity of airports’.

The conclude by stating that their ‘Noise Road-Map’ presents a tool kit to assist the industry in further developing measures to reduce noise from aircraft. From the ‘Noise Road-Map’ SA intends a ‘Delivery Action Plan’ to monitor and manage common industry actions, and a ‘Member Specific Action Plan’ developed by individual airlines and airport sites with their relevant stakeholder groups to incorporate these principles into existing noise strategies such as airport Noise Action Plans.