Noise Abatement Procedures

 

As we have seen during this class, aviation has grown exponentially due to increased passenger and freight demands. Therefore, airports deal with the high flow of traffic arriving, departing, and taxiing. Unfortunately, people living close to airports also are affected by the consequences of the elevated flow of traffic; the clearest example is the noise airplanes emit when they fly over. According to Van Praag et al. (2005), people suffer because of the noise but also, but it has other consequences such as the devaluation of their houses. Noise is probably the reason that many people do not like to live near an airport because airplanes are really loud. Despite technological advances such as the hi-by-pass ratio engines, which are more efficient and quieter than old engines, the noise emitted by aircraft is still annoying for most people.

Airport managers are obviously aware of this situation due to the continuous complaints of the annoyed neighbors. For this reason, they must create strategies to reduce noise as much as possible. The first strategy is applied even before the construction of the airport itself. The place where the airport will be built plays an important role in the reduction of noise pollution. Nowadays, most airports are thought to be built on the cities’ outskirts, so they don’t generate too much noise pollution. Another problem that is solved by this strategy is the vertical restrictions of some cities due to the necessity of providing obstacle clearance to the aircraft.

However, some airports are already built within the cities and are really close to the neighborhoods. Thus, airport managers must think of strategies like the appliance of noise abatement procedures. These procedures may consist of the use of preferential runways depending on the time of the day, departure and arrivals routes, minimum climb restrictions, and so on. Applying the noise abatement procedures ensures the reduction of noise pollution over the most congested areas and prevents upset city dwellers.

Reference:

 

Van Praag, B. M. S., & Baarsma, B. E. (2005). Using Happiness Surveys to Value Intangibles: The Case of Airport Noise. The Economic Journal (London), 115(500), 224–246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2004.00967.x