ATwhen the government plans to a decree relating to the fight against airport noise pollution taken by the Minister of Transport to implement a balanced approach for all major airports in the European Union, some professionals in the sector are reluctant and criticize the measure. However, this approach has been recommended for more than twenty years by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations.
The liberalization of air transport has enabled exceptional growth in air transport in Europe, but the health impacts of this growth exacerbate tensions on the territories most directly concerned, which are often the most disadvantaged territories of the metropolises which benefit from a large airport. . These health impacts have a perfectly measurable cost in the nation’s accounts.
Unless you want to fuel the tensions and cause the “hatred of the plane”most professionals are aware that the development of traffic in Europe must now be reasonable and that a truly balanced approach is necessary to enable airports to serve their territories fairly.
The objective, a reduction of emissions at the source
The first principle is the optimal mobilization of all the levers that can be mobilized by professionals. This involves reducing emissions at source, optimizing operational air navigation procedures on approach, on the ground and on departure from airports. Sustainable planning and programming of operations are also recommended. For each airport, the professionals’ commitments are recorded every five years in the environmental noise prevention plans for each major airport.
We are currently at the end of the third deadline (2018-2022) extended to 2023 due to Covid-19. At the end of each deadline, it is up to the prefects to approve and publish the strategic noise maps. The comparison of the 2016 and 2022 maps makes it possible to measure the concrete results obtained and to objectively assess whether there has been an improvement or deterioration in the local situation.
The second principle is based on the fact that if the actions undertaken by the operators have not made it possible to achieve the local health objectives, measures to restrict operations should be considered. However, before being taken, these measures must be subject to impact studies. The aim is to enable the public authorities to assess the cost-effectiveness of the measures envisaged before deciding which ones to implement.
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