ACI Welcomes New International Aircraft Noise Standard

Montréal, Québec, Canada, 18 February 2013 – A new standard that will require improved noise performance from newly certified aircraft types was agreed at the Ninth Meeting of ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) on 7 February.

The agreement will mean that from 2017 new large civil aircraft types will need to be at least 7 EPNdB (Effective Perceived Noise in Decibels) quieter than the current Chapter 4 standard.  This is only the fourth new noise standard in the history of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).  All civil aeroplanes and helicopters built today are required to meet noise certification standards set out in Annex 16 to the Chicago Convention and adopted by the Council of ICAO.

Angela Gittens, Director General, Airports Council International said, “ACI welcomes this important step forward by ICAO in agreeing to a new aircraft noise certification standard. Noise standards are vital to airport and aviation industry efforts to operate and grow responsibly and sustainably. Airports need to work constructively with the communities around them and noise standards must respond to the voices of those communities in order that airports obtain their permission to operate and grow. ACI looks forward to future ICAO standards being introduced more frequently, which could also provide an incentive for research and development into aircraft noise reduction technology.”

Note to editors

The new aircraft noise standard, which will be Chapter 14 of Annex 16 to the Chicago Convention, will apply to new large aircraft types certified after 2017; and to aircraft less than 55 tonnes after 2020. The agreement will lead to the production of quieter aircraft in the coming years.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) serves as the global forum for its 191 Member States: its aviation environmental activities are largely undertaken through the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) made up of Members and Observers who are technical experts from around the world. CAEP’s recommendations are the basis for minimizing the impact of aircraft noise and emissions through the adoption of technological, operational and market-based measures. ACI holds Observer status on CAEP and the ACI Delegation present at the Ninth Meeting of CAEP included representatives from airports, ACI World and ACI Regional Offices.

ACI forecasts that passenger traffic worldwide will increase from over 5 billion passengers today to 11 billion by 2030. New airport infrastructure is required to accommodate that passenger growth and ICAO’s agreement to a stricter noise certification standard is vital to obtaining community permission to operate and grow. In terms of the socio-economic benefits of airports, the latest economic analyses published by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), of which ACI is a member, reports that airports currently employ some 500,000 people around the world and serve as engines of economic growth for tourism and commerce globally. Permission to operate and grow will help airports develop their infrastructure to further the socio-economic benefits they bring to communities worldwide.

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About Airports Council International

ACI is the only worldwide association of airports. It is a non-profit organization whose prime purpose is to represent the interests of airports and to promote professional excellence in airport management and operations. ACI has 573 members who operate over 1751 airports in 174 countries and territories.

Media Contact

Cheryl Marcell
Director, Communications and Events
ACI World
Email: cmarcell@aci.aero