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Today the aviation industry is strongly exposed to criticism based on its impact on climate change. While this is a very important challenge, the industry and especially airports also have a second important challenge: noise impact, which needs to be managed more strategically and proactively. This paper discusses the key factors that influence noise impact, looking at the influence of the evolution of passenger numbers and movements, the influence of the time slots used for these movements and the movements of the lowest noise class aircraft. It will also examine why the permissible noise curve currently under discussion is much larger than that of the 2009 noise register, the first definition by the Swiss aviation regulator of the foreseen noise impact of Geneva Airport. The paper will investigate to what extent Geneva Airport can influence the noise curves through opening hours and slot availability, as well as ways in which the airport might achieve the 20 per cent noise reduction announced in the aeronautical infrastructure sector plan of 2018. Finally, it will suggest a methodology to produce a forecast of noise impact based on key variables such as movements during specific hours of the day and the percentage of movements of aircraft of the lowest noise class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational models of sufficient quality are indispensable to quantitatively assess aircraft noise reduction measures. Within this study, a multi-level simulation framework is established in order to predict the environmental noise of holding approach procedures by coupling simulation models from three different domains: flight performance calculation employing the base of aircraft data (BADA), jet engine performance using the software Gasturb and aircraft noise simulations based on the software sonAIR. Two different concepts of holding approach procedures are investigated, namely, the vertical holding stack and the linear hold point merge. The study is conducted considering generic air traffic scenarios at a single-runway airport. Thereby, the investigated air traffic is based on a statistical analysis of traffic data at existing airports and thus assumed to be representative. As the aircraft's noise emission depends on both the aircraft and the engine performance, reliable results can be expected only if all individual challenges and interdependencies are accounted for simultaneously. Addressing this challenge is the main contribution of the presented work. The presented results show the plausibility of the proposed multi-level simulation framework, thus supporting its use to investigate the environmental noise impact of air traffic scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational models of sufficient quality are indispensable to quantitatively assess aircraft noise reduction measures. Within this study, a multi-level simulation framework is established in order to predict the environmental noise of holding approach procedures by coupling simulation models from three different domains: flight performance calculation employing the base of aircraft data (BADA), jet engine performance using the software Gasturb and aircraft noise simulations based on the software sonAIR. Two different concepts of holding approach procedures are investigated, namely, the vertical holding stack and the linear hold point merge. The study is conducted considering generic air traffic scenarios at a single-runway airport. Thereby, the investigated air traffic is based on a statistical analysis of traffic data at existing airports and thus assumed to be representative. As the aircraft’s noise emission depends on both the aircraft and the engine performance, reliable results can be expected only if all individual challenges and interdependencies are accounted for simultaneously. Addressing this challenge is the main contribution of the presented work. The presented results show the plausibility of the proposed multi-level simulation framework, thus supporting its use to investigate the environmental noise impact of air traffic scenarios.

Background: Few studies have considered aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity in analyses of the health effects of aircraft noise, especially in relation to medication use. This study aims to investigate the moderating and mediating role of these two factors in the relationship between aircraft noise levels and medication use among 5860 residents of ten European airports included in the HYENA and DEBATS studies.Methods: Information on aircraft noise annoyance, noise sensitivity, medication use, and demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle factors was collected during a face-to-face interview at home. Medication was coded according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification. Outdoor aircraft noise exposure was estimated by linking the participant's home address to noise contours using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) methods. Logistic regressions with adjustment for potential confounding factors were used. In addition, Baron and Kenny's recommendations were followed to investigate the moderating and mediating effects of aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity.Results: A significant association was found between aircraft noise levels at night and antihypertensive medication only in the UK (OR = 1.43, 95%CI 1.19-1.73 for a 10 dB(A)-increase in Lnight). No association was found with other medications. Aircraft noise annoyance was significantly associated with the use of antihypertensive medication (OR = 1.33, 95%CI 1.14-1.56), anxiolytics (OR = 1.48, 95%CI 1.08-2.05), hypnotics and sedatives (OR = 1.60, 95%CI 1.07-2.39), and antasthmatics (OR = 1.44, 95%CI 1.07-1.96), with no difference between countries. Noise sensitivity was significantly associated with almost all medications, with the exception of the use of antasthmatics, showing an increase in ORs with the level of noise sensitivity, with differences in ORs among countries only for the use of antihypertensive medication. The results also suggested a mediating role of aircraft noise annoyance and a modifying role of both aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity in the association between aircraft noise levels and medication use.Conclusions: The present study is consistent with the results of the small number of studies available to date suggesting that both aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity should be taken into account in analyses of the health effects of exposure to aircraft noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The design of departure routes and allocation of aircraft are considered. • A two-step optimization framework is proposed. • The reliability and applicability of the proposed approach are evaluated. • The proposed framework can provide solutions outperforming the reference case. In this article, we present the development of a two-step optimization framework to deal with the design and selection of aircraft departure routes and the allocation of flights among these routes. The aim of the framework is to minimize cumulative noise annoyance and fuel burn. In the first step of the framework, multi-objective trajectory optimization is used to compute and store a set of routes that will serve as inputs in the second step. In the second step, the selection of routes from the sets of pre-computed optimal routes and the optimal allocation of flights to these routes are conducted simultaneously. To validate the proposed framework, we also conduct an analysis involving an integrated (one-step) approach, in which both trajectory optimization and route allocation are formulated as a single optimization problem. A comparison of both approaches is then performed, and their advantages and disadvantages are identified. The performance and capabilities of the present framework are demonstrated using a case study at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in The Netherlands. The numerical results show that the proposed framework can generate solutions which can achieve a reduction in the number of people annoyed of up to 31% and a reduction in fuel consumption of 7.3% relative to the reference case solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The noise impact evaluation due to daily population mobility is investigated. • A new air traffic assignment model based on daily population mobility is proposed. • The reliability and applicability of the proposed approach are evaluated. • The proposed methodology can generate solutions outperforming the reference case. • The optimal assignments are dependent on the daily mobility of population. The paper first investigates the influence of daily mobility of population on evaluation of aircraft noise effects. Then, a new air traffic assignment model that considers this activity is proposed. The main objective is to reduce the number of people affected by noise via lowering as much as possible the noise exposure level L den of individuals or groups of people who commute to the same locations during the day. It is hereby intended to reduce the noise impact upon individuals rather than to reduce the impact in particular – typically densely populated – areas. However, sending aircraft farther away from populated regions to reduce noise impact may increase fuel burn, thus affecting airline costs and sustainability. Therefore, a multi-objective optimization approach is utilized to obtain reasonable solutions that comply with overall air transport sustainability. The method aims at generating a set of solutions that provide proper balance between noise annoyance and fuel consumption. The reliability and applicability of the proposed method are validated through a real case study at Belgrade airport in Serbia. The investigation shows that there is a difference between the number of people annoyed (NPA) evaluated based on the census data and the NPA evaluated based on the mobility data. In addition, these numbers differ significantly across residential locations. The optimal results show that the proposed model can offer a considerable reduction in the NPA, and in some cases, it can gain up to 77%, while maintaining the same level of fuel consumption compared with the reference case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Web data on civil air traffic are coupled with the ECAC model to compute airport noise. • Data for nine airports in the EU are collected, for a total of 10,752 flights. • Historical data at Heathrow, Schiphol, and Schwechat are used to validate the approach. • The proposed methodology is applicable to any airport worldwide. Abstract A large amount of data on civil air traffic is now available on the web, thanks to the recent development of flight tracker websites. This paper presents a novel methodology to exploit these data for computing real-world noise around airports. The proposed approach consists of data collection and pre-processing, flight path reconstruction, aircraft noise computation using a best-practice model (ECAC Doc.29), and rendering of ground track and noise contour maps in airport areas. Applications are shown for nine European airports, where the daily air traffic reconstructed from 10,752 collected flights compares well with official records from EUROCONTROL. Among these airports, London Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol and Vienna-Schwechat have been considered for the validation of the present methodology, and a good agreement is found between predicted ground noise levels and available historical data, with the largest deviations being detected in the portions of the airport areas most affected by departure events. The present work constitutes the first step to harnessing the potential of web data in aviation, unlocking unprecedented possibilities for assessing the environmental impact of civil aviation and providing policy-makers with a powerful tool for developing guidelines and regulations aimed at mitigating the detrimental effects of air traffic in densely inhabited regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air traffic is growing at a steady rate of 3% to 5% per year in most regions of the world, implying a doubling every 15–25 years. This requires major advances in aircraft noise reduction at airports, just not to increase the noise exposure due to the larger number of aircraft movements. In fact it can be expected, as a consequence of increased opposition to noise by near airport residents, that the overall noise exposure will have to be reduced, by bans, curfews, fines, and other means and limitations, unless significantly quieter aircraft operations are achieved. The ultimate solution is aircraft operations inaudible outside the airport perimeter, or noise levels below road traffic and other existing local noise sources. These substantial noise reductions cannot come at the expense of a degradation of cruise efficiency, that would affect not just economics and travel time, but would increase fuel consumption and emission of pollutants on a global scale. The paper reviews the: (i) current knowledge of the aircraft noise sources; (ii) the sound propagation in the atmosphere and ground effects that determine the noise annoyance of near-airport residents; (iii) the noise mitigation measures that can be applied to current and future aircraft; (iv) the prospects of evolutionary and novel aircraft designs towards quieter aircraft in the near term and eventually to operations inaudible outside the airport perimeter. The 20 figures and 1 diagram with their legends provide a visual summary of the review.

Purpose: The German Aerospace Center (DLR) investigated in the NORAH sleep study the association between a distinct change in nocturnal aircraft noise exposure due to the introduction of a night curfew (11:00 p.m.-5:00 a.m.) at Frankfurt Airport and short-term annoyance reactions of residents in the surrounding community. Exposure-response curves were calculated by random effects logistic regression to evaluate the aircraft noise-related parameters (1) number of overflights and (2) energy equivalent noise level L for the prediction of short-term annoyance. Data of the NORAH sleep study were compared with the STRAIN sleep study which was conducted by DLR near Cologne-Bonn Airport in 2001/2002 ( N = 64), representing a steady-state/low-rate change. Methods: The NORAH sleep study was based on questionnaire surveys with 187 residents living in the vicinity of Frankfurt Airport. Noise-induced short-term annoyance and related non-acoustical variables were assessed. Nocturnal aircraft noise exposure was measured inside the residents' home. Results: A statistically significant rise in the portion of annoyed residents with increasing number of overflights was found. Similarly, the portion of annoyed subjects increased with rising L. Importance of the frequency of fly-overs for the prediction of annoyance reactions was emphasized. The annoyance probability was significantly higher in the NORAH than in the STRAIN sleep study. Conclusions: Results confirm the importance of both acoustical parameters for the prediction of short-term annoyance due to nocturnal aircraft noise. Quantitative annoyance models that were derived at steady-state/low-rate change airports cannot be directly applied to airports that underwent a distinct change in operational and noise exposure patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aircraft noise and fog still become the problem at many airports affecting the comfort of passengers and those living at its vicinity. Further, it causes many accidents or crashes due to decreased of the visibility. The purpose of this research is to analyse how noise and smog can be managed for the safety and comfort of passengers and residents living near the airports. The case study is International Airport Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Palembang and 90 passengers were interviewed through a questionnaire in order to understand how the airport manages smog and noise pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an effort to allow to increase the number of aircraft and airport operations while mitigating their negative impacts (e.g., noise and pollutant emission) on near-airport communities, the optimal design of new departure routes with less noise and fuel consumption becomes more important. In this paper, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition (MOEA/D), which recently emerged as a potential method for solving multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs), is developed for this kind of problem. First, to minimize aircraft noise for departure routes while taking into account the interests of various stakeholders, bi-objective optimization problems involving noise and fuel consumption are formulated where both the ground track and vertical profile of a departure route are optimized simultaneously. Second, in order to make the design space of vertical profiles feasible during the optimization process, a trajectory parameterization technique recently proposed is employed. Furthermore, some modifications to MOEA/D that are aimed at significantly reducing the computational cost are also introduced. Two different examples of departure routes at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands are shown to demonstrate the applicability and reliability of the proposed method. The simulation results reveal that the proposed method is an effective and efficient approach for solving this kind of problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a simplified model [Rapid Aviation Noise Evaluator (RANE)] for the calculation of aviation noise within the context of multi-disciplinary strategic environmental assessment where input data are both limited and constrained by compatibility requirements against other disciplines. RANE relies upon the concept of noise cylinders around defined flight-tracks with the Noise Radius determined from publicly available Noise-Power-Distance curves rather than the computationally intensive multiple point-to-point grid calculation with subsequent ISO-contour interpolation methods adopted in the FAA's Integrated Noise Model (INM) and similar models. Preliminary results indicate that for simple single runway scenarios, changes in airport noise contour areas can be estimated with minimal uncertainty compared against grid-point calculation methods such as INM. In situations where such outputs are all that is required for preliminary strategic environmental assessment, there are considerable benefits in reduced input data and computation requirements. Further development of the noise-cylinder-based model (such as the incorporation of lateral attenuation, engine-installation-effects or horizontal track dispersion via the assumption of more complex noise surfaces formed around the flight-track) will allow for more complex assessment to be carried out. RANE is intended to be incorporated into technology evaluators for the noise impact assessment of novel aircraft concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social surveys have been the conventional means of evaluating the annoyance caused by transportation noise. Sampling and interviewing by telephone, mail, or in person are often costly and time consuming, however. Data collection by web-based survey methods are less costly and may be completed more quickly, and hence, could be conducted in countries with fewer resources. Such methods, however, raise issues about the generalizability and comparability of findings. These issues were investigated in a study of the annoyance of aircraft noise exposure around Brazil's Guarulhos Airport. The findings of 547 interviews obtained with the aid of Facebook advertisements and web-based forms were analysed with respect to estimated aircraft noise exposure levels at respondents' residences. The results were analysed to assess whether and how web-based surveys might yield generalizable noise dose-response relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aircraft noise is one of the hardest thing to control, because of its wide-range effects, and it needs a great deal of funding for preventing like removal airport or land purchasing. As volume of air traffic grows, the noise level around airport increases as well. The priority of aircraft noise prevention needs to be based on assessment in exposed population. There are many method for decreasing aircraft noise in flight operational part. In this study, the various method of fight operation during take off and landing will be discussed in order to decrease the aircraft noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future air transportation demand forecasts suggest that environmental concerns such as noise will be exacerbated beyond their current level. Although detailed airport noise modeling with tools such as the integrated noise model and the Federal Aviation Administration's Aviation Environmental Design Tool are available, these software require relatively long setup and run times due to the number of inputs available to the user and the general fidelity level of the models. A rapid, flexible, and more simplified method that reduces the input variables to a critical few and can provide results in minutes is desired to evaluate fleet-level metrics with respect to new technologies or forecasted changes in demand. Current lower-fidelity methods only calculate a change in contour area due to changes within the overall fleet composition. These methods cannot account for the shape of the contour. This paper presents a rapid airport noise computation model that leverages the fidelity of detailed models. By performing generic aircraft operations upfront, events can be rapidly recombined later to perform trades of various noise mitigating strategies. By moving the detailed noise modeling "offline" through simplifying assumptions, the fidelity of detailed models can be channeled upstream in the decision-making process. The increased speed of the model enables multiple fleet-level analyses. Verification and validation results show agreement benchmarked against integrated noise model equivalents when model assumptions are obeyed. Comparison to detailed integrated noise model equivalents when model assumptions are violated introduces certain errors, but the model retains contour area accuracy, through the basic capture of contour shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of the atmosphere on sound propagation can impact the perceived noise on the ground significantly and therefore needs to be accounted for in aircraft noise modelling. However, to be practical, propagation modelling cannot impose a limitation on calculation time. The aim is therefore to design a robust and computationally lean atmospheric propagation model for the prediction of aircraft noise. Foreseen applications are the evaluation of en-route noise, noise optimisation studies and the evaluation of noise in airport scenarios.To achieve a computationally low demanding algorithm an analytical approach is pursued. When the wave front orientation is approximated to be perpendicular to the ray path, it follows from the Eikonal equation that a ray obeys to an adapted form of Snell's law. If the atmosphere is then discretized in layers of linearly varying sound speed and wind velocity, it allows the ray path and ray properties to be expressed analytically within a layer. Cross-validation against two independently developed ray tracing routines has shown the validity of the selected modelling approach.In conclusion, a robust and computationally low demanding method has been developed for atmospheric sound propagation that can be incorporated in aircraft noise modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We evaluated the role of messaging on acceptability of military aircraft sounds. [•] We discuss the role of theory, communication strategies and visitor management. [•] Messaging increased visitor acceptability of aircraft sounds by as much as 15%. [•] Messaging concerning military aircraft in Sequoia may improve visitor experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents an experimental work on active control of sound transmission through a restricted opening bottom hinged window. The main goal of the work is to demonstrate the feasibility of the active technique to limit the loss of attenuation due to the aperture of windows, and its application to aircraft fly-over incident noise. The experimental window is placed in an exposed façade of a dwelling close to an airport and subject to fly-by aircraft noise. The active control is configured to cancel the pressure at the aperture using a single-input single-output feedforward adaptive system. As a result, a reduction of sound transmission is achieved with low power consumption. In global terms, an increase of almost 3dB of transmission loss (with respect to the partially opened window insulation values) in the low frequency range (below 160Hz and according to the National Danish Method for evaluating low frequency noise) is demonstrated, which is equivalent to a reduction of 50% in the loss of insulation caused by opening the window. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Airport noise insulation programmes (NIPs) implement active measures for reducing the amount of noise to which people are exposed without impacting the operating capacity of an airport. This is the reason why they are one of the most extended actions adopted internationally by airport authorities to fight noise in airport surroundings. Beyond the assumption that a correct implementation of the NIP will significantly reduce sound exposure, this research aims to determine the efficacy of the NIP as a result of the beneficiaries’ subjective perception in terms of satisfaction, and the reduction of the reported annoyance. A telephone survey was carried out in more than 650 dwellings in the surroundings of several Spanish Airports (Alicante, Bilbao, Grand Canary, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca). The results have shown that: (a) the beneficiaries have a generally positive perception regarding the actions implemented, (b) they are quite satisfied regarding the insulation of the façades after NIP implementation, (c) they report a reduction of the annoyance, but (d) they still perceive aircraft noise as a source of disturbance. The statistical analysis of the results has also shown that there are some non-acoustic factors influencing citizens’ perception of NIPs. Factors such as the aesthetic of windows, or the reliability and professionalism of the workers and technicians involved in the NIP, have been shown to modify people’s reaction. But, the dissatisfaction with legal aspects of Spanish regulations concerning a lower protection of some practical spaces (like, bathrooms and kitchens that have been left out in many cases) has been found to be the factor most affecting people’s response. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Traditionally aircraft flyover noise is assessed by displaying contours of noise metrics. These models can be used to study noise mitigation measures but they lack the possibility to play-back the audible sound as predicted by their calculations. To that end, noise synthesis is an option that allows to experience differences due to noise abatement procedures or new aircraft designs. A noise synthesis technique for aircraft noise is demonstrated by predicting the noise at a noise monitoring location near an airport. By comparing the synthesized results to a recorded measurement, an indication on the capability of this technique has been acquired. Differences between the synthesized and measured sound remain. A large part of that difference is believed to be caused by the inherent uncertainty when using predictive empirical source noise models. It is shown that differences between departure routes can be captured, thereby illustrating the potential of this method to listen to different take-off procedures. Future improvements in source noise prediction and the inclusion of the effects of turbulence on propagation will further aid to the realism of synthesized aircraft noise. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes a method for the automatic identification of acoustic events using a weighted average of sound pressure and sound intensity measured at the vicinity of airports. The classification is based on the combination of different parameters using a technique conceptually similar to the sensor fusion: the indications of different classifiers are merged using the classification uncertainty as a figure of merit. The method uses the results of a training phase for the observation of statistical distributions of sound pressure and sound intensity related parameters. The different parameters’ weights are computed analyzing the overlap of probability distributions of takeoffs and landings, so that more relevance is given to the quantities presenting a low risk of misclassification. The proposed method does not require any arbitrary assumption about the parameter effectiveness, given that the indications of multiple (potentially infinite) classifiers can be merged together with weights that minimize the chance of misclassification. The method has been validated with measurements performed at the Milan Malpensa airport (Italy). Results outlined that the proposed classification criterion correctly identifies approximately 99% of events. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The influence of urban morphology of low-density built-up areas on spatial noise level attenuation of flyover aircrafts is investigated at a mesoscale. Six urban morphological parameters, including Building Plan Area Fraction, Complete Aspect Ratio, Building Surface Area to Plan Area Ratio, Building Frontal Area Index, Height-to-Width Ratio, and Horizontal Distance of First-row Building to Flight Path, have been selected and developed. Effects of flight altitude and horizontal flight path distance to site, on spatial aircraft noise attenuation, are examined, considering open areas and façades. Twenty sampled sites, each of 250m*250m, are considered. The results show that within 1000m horizontal distance of flight path to a site, urban morphology plays an important role in open areas, especially for the buildings with high sound absorption façades, where the variance of average noise level attenuation among different sites is about 4.6dB at 3150Hz. The effect of flight altitude of 200–400ft on average noise level attenuation is not significant, within about 2dB at both 630Hz and1600Hz in open areas. Urban morphological parameters influence the noise attenuation more in open areas than that on façades. Spatial noise attenuation of flyover aircrafts is mainly correlated to Building Frontal Area Index and Horizontal Distance of First-row Building to Flight Path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aircraft noise contours are estimated with model calculations. Due to their impact, e.g., on land use planning, calculations need to be highly accurate, but their uncertainty usually remains unaccounted for. The objective of this study was therefore to quantify the uncertainty of calculated average equivalent continuous sound levels (L Aeq) of complex scenarios such as yearly air operations, and to establish uncertainty maps. The methodology was developed for the simulation program FLULA2. In a first step, the partial uncertainties of modelling the aircraft as a sound source and of modelling sound propagation were quantified as a function of aircraft type and distance between aircraft and receiver. Then, these uncertainties were combined for individual flights to obtain the uncertainty of the single event level (L AE) at a specified receiver grid. The average L Aeq of a scenario results from the combination of the L AE of many single flights, each of which has its individual uncertainties. In a last step, the uncertainties of all L AE were therefore combined to the uncertainty of the L Aeq, accounting also for uncertainties of the number of movements and of prognoses. Uncertainty estimations of FLULA2 calculations for Zurich and Geneva airports revealed that the standard uncertainty of the L Aeq ranges from 0.5dB (day) to 1.0dB (night) for past-time scenarios when using radar data as input, and from 1.0dB (day) to 1.3dB (night) for future scenarios, in areas where L Aeq ⩾53dB (day) and L Aeq ⩾43dB (night), respectively. Different uncertainty values may result for other models and/or airports, depending on the model sophistication, traffic input data, available sound source data, and airport peculiarities such as the specific aircraft fleet or prevailing departure and arrival procedures. The methodology, while established for FLULA2 on Zurich and Geneva airports, may be applied to other models and/or airports, but the partial uncertainties have to be specifically re-established to account for individual models and underlying sound source data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Aircraft noise pollution is a common challenge faced by the world. In China, this problem has drawn more and more attention from the local government and general public, as the average growth of aviation capacity exceeds 10% every year. Therefore this review paper aims to investigate the characteristics of China’s aircraft noise, the underlying reasons for noise complaints, and the negative impacts of aircraft noise on human health. It is found that there is an increase, on average, of 3% hearing loss per exposure year in China. Aircraft noise can also bring potential damages to other physiological systems, such as the cardiovascular system. Along with the fast development of the aviation industry, complaints arising due to the disturbance of aircraft noise have occurred more frequently in China. For the residents living in the vicinity of the airport, aircraft noise can induce their annoyance at different levels, and it has been revealed that the areas and populations influenced by aircraft noise are predicted to grow steadily with the flight increase and airport expansion. Comparatively, Chinese residents might be more easily annoyed by aircraft noise. The differences among typical international aircraft noise standards and regulations, and the existing problems are also summarised. Finally this paper further explores the appropriate strategies for the reduction of aircraft noise, as well as the preventative legislation for the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Airport environmental noise is a crucial quality of life’s environmental factor. [•] A comparative Study on Aircraft Noise – according to the European Directive 49/2002. [•] 2006 and 2011 Strategic Noise Maps (SNM) and Noise Action Plans were assessed. [•] Noise indicators L den and L night were calculated in an area of 1,78,000m2. [•] 2006 Noise Action Plan proven adequate according to Greek legislation limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Pisa Airport is growing and increasing the exposition of the population to noise. [•] We estimated its impact with INM model, considering commercial and military flights. [•] A new system was used to check tracks and to evaluate the noise abatement measures. [•] We simulated the present and future scenarios and we evaluated the health endpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of effects on speech intelligibility from aircraft noise in outdoor places are currently lacking. To explore these effects, first-order ambisonic recordings of aircraft noise were reproduced outdoors in a pergola. The average background level was 47 dB LAeq. Lists of phonetically balanced words (LASmax,word=54 dB) were reproduced simultaneously with aircraft passage noise (LASmax,noise=72-84 dB). Twenty individually tested listeners wrote down each presented word while seated in the pergola. The main results were (i) aircraft noise negatively affects speech intelligibility at sound pressure levels that exceed those of the speech sound (signal-to-noise ratio, S/N<0), and (ii) the simple A-weighted S/N ratio was nearly as good an indicator of speech intelligibility as were two more advanced models, the Speech Intelligibility Index and Glasberg and Moore's [J. Audio Eng. Soc. 53, 906-918 (2005)] partial loudness model. This suggests that any of these indicators is applicable for predicting effects of aircraft noise on speech intelligibility outdoors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sound exposure level, SEL, is the measure of noise coming from a single aircraft operation. All SEL measurements, performed in the vicinity of an airport, are aggregated into a few categories of normal distribution. Each SEL category is characterized by the category mean, variance, and the occurrence probability. This study shows how to calculate the overall mean and overall standard deviation of all possible values of SEL from the known occurrence probabilities and the measured category means and variances. The airport noise can be assessed in terms of SEL, but also in terms of the time average sound level, LpAeq,T and the day-evening-night level, Lden. The occurrence probabilities, category means, and variances of SEL are used to estimate the overall mean and overall standard variation of LAeqT and Lden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an important upgrade of a modelling tool devised by the authors for estimating aircraft noise around civil airports, which is based on a best-practice noise computation method and flight tracking data collected from the Internet and complemented by datasets of aircraft models, runways, and terrain elevation. Targeting more accurate noise predictions, the upgraded model introduces reasoned degrees of freedom in the standard flight procedures, and the tracked altitudes and speeds of each flight event are used to fit these modified procedures, which leads to an original mixed analysis-synthesis approach. Additional improvements include better runway assignment and consideration of actual weather conditions. Comparison of July 2019 results with official data for Heathrow, Gatwick and Schiphol airports shows an improved noise prediction, with an average underestimation lowered to 1.5 dB(A) for exposure-based metrics. Therefore, this upgraded modelling tool can be a reliable support to civil aviation authorities and policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of aircraft noise-induced sleep disturbance is problematic for several reasons. Current assessment methods are based on sparse evidence and limited understandings; predictions of awakening prevalence rates based on indoor absolute sound exposure levels (SELs) fail to account for appreciable amounts of variance in dosage-response relationships and are not freely generalizable from airport to airport; and predicted awakening rates do not differ significantly from zero over a wide range of SELs. Even in conjunction with additional predictors, such as time of night and assumed individual differences in 'sensitivity to awakening,' nominally SEL-based predictions of awakening rates remain of limited utility and are easily misapplied and misinterpreted. Probabilities of awakening are more closely related to SELs scaled in units of standard deviates of local distributions of aircraft SELs, than to absolute sound levels. Self-selection of residential populations for tolerance of nighttime noise and habituation to airport noise environments offer more parsimonious and useful explanations for differences in awakening rates at disparate airports than assumed individual differences in sensitivity to awakening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To predict and prevent the noise around the airport becomes an urgent problem. A new airport noise prediction model based on fuzzy support vector regression is established on the existing generic software for noise calculation. To integrate into the fuzzy support vector regression algorithm, the fuzzy membership of each sample is determined by its local outlier factor. Finally, the prediction accuracy, noise immunity, generalization ability of the proposed model are validated on the historic flight data of an airport. Experiments show that the fuzzy support vector regression algorithm based on local outlier factor can effectively predict the noise levels around airports, and is more accurate and better noise immunity than the standard support vector regression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the characteristics of airport noise data, a fast hierarchical clustering algorithm based on representative point is presented. This algorithm improves the traditional condensed hierarchical clustering algorithm by using clustering representative point method and dichotomy strategy. Meanwhile, a clustering result evaluation method which combines the clustering representative point and the definition of similarity in clustering algorithm is proposed. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm not only has high performance, but also can discover the noise distribution model of a specific type of flight event correctly. The method can accurately predict the noise distribution model of these flight events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper deals with the value of supplemental aircraft noise information in the form of combining aircraft movement numbers and noise levels to assist airport neighbours in understanding airport noise. To analyse the socio-spatial interaction of annoyance with, and interference by, aircraft noise, an alternative is recommended, namely the number of noise events above selected noise levels so that laypeople can better understand the extent of noise. The research is based on a questionnaire survey of households affected by aircraft noise around OR Tambo International Airport near Johannesburg. The results indicate that levels of annoyance and disturbance across a number of normal household activities are positively related to the number of noise events recorded, irrespective of noise levels above 60dB. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines sound level meter errors when measuring direct fly-over aircraft noise in presence of background noise. Since the meter is unable to separate aircraft noise from background noise, an array of 12 microphones is used to measure direct aircraft noise avoiding the effect of the ground reflections and urban background noise. Using this technique, aircraft noise can be separated from the background noise providing a reference value of the aircraft sound pressure level for the sound level meter measurement. Measurement is carried out using both a sound level meter and the array in an urban environment with high background noise level near Barcelona Airport. Finally, the experimental measurement errors of the sound meter are within 1dB of the theoretical values. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In applied research, noise annoyance is often used as indicator of subjective reaction to aircraft noise in residential areas. The present study aims to show that the meaning which respondents attach to the concept of aircraft noise annoyance is partly a function of survey context. To this purpose a survey is conducted among residents living near Schiphol Airport, the largest airport in the Netherlands. In line with the formulated hypotheses it is shown that different sets of preceding questionnaire items influence the response distribution of aircraft noise annoyance as well as the correlational patterns between aircraft noise annoyance and other relevant scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise pollution around airports is one of the most important problems in environmental acoustics. The incessant development of modern societies is continuously increasing the demand for air transport, and airports have to grow to adapt their operational capacity to the new requirements. On the other hand, the economic activity related to airports is closely linked to the expansion of built-up areas around them. Consequently, two completely incompatible land uses are forced to coexist, causing airport capacity to remain limited while the inhabitants do not cease to be annoyed by aircraft noise. Although there are several international initiatives setting the focus on the reduction of noise at the source, people living in residential areas around airports need urgent solutions. Among others, the implementation of sound insulation programs is one of the most widely-adopted solutions worldwide, as it allows a reduction of sound levels in the interior of dwellings, while the operational capacity of the airport remains unaffected. The definition and application of a sound insulation program is a very complex process that needs to manage several opposing factors: health, annoyance, airport capacity, economic costs of insulation measures .. In this paper we describe the case of Spanish airport insulation programs. We set the focus on a concise description of the full process, from the creation of noise maps, to the checking of installed soundproofing measures, as carried out by the Spanish administration. As a result of this process, thousands of dwellings and houses have been acoustically insulated to meet indoor noise comfort criteria in Madrid, Mallorca and Malaga airports, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The evidence from epidemiological studies on the association between exposure to traffic and aircraft noise and hypertension and ischemic heart disease has increased during the recent years. Both road traffic and aircraft noise increase the risk of high blood pressure. Environmental noise mapping, as per the 2002/49/EC Directive, is an obligation of all European Union (EU) member states. In the framework of the present article a complete Strategic Noise Mapping research and Action Noise Plans assessment and evaluation are presented and aim to access land use management as an effective tool for protection from aircraft noise. The case of the Larnaka International Airport in Cyprus, a typical Mediterranean airport, (considered as a “large airport” according to the above EU Directive and the recent Cyprus Legislation Law No. 224(Ι)/2004), is presented. In this paper a review of both assessment and action implementation procedures focusing on the dominant – in the area – aircraft traffic noise is presented, with emphasis to (a) a full calculation of Strategic Noise Map (SNM) scenarios of actual and future airport operation using the ECAC.CEAC Doc 29 methodology for both EU common indicators Lden and Lnight in scales of 5dB, (b) a full evaluation of results with emphasis to the Larnaka greater area land uses and the exposure of inhabitants in residences in various levels of environmental noise, and (c) a full evaluation of Noise Action Plans (NAP) introducing especially a new land use management scheme for the future Larnaka Town Land Use Plan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study which examines the flyover measurement of a spiraling noise abatement approach procedure. It notes that other option for procedures concerning the evaluation of noise reduction is being investigated. It mentions that one approach has involved the approaching of airport at higher altitude compared with standard landing trajectories.

Abstract: The optimization of aircraft noise abatement procedures involves several conflicting factors, including location specific noise sensitivity and aircraft operating costs. This paper presents a multi-objective optimization strategy that employs goal, lexicographic-egalitarian and hierarchical optimization techniques. The presented methodology aims at better assessing the design of site-specific noise abatement procedures that take into account the actual populated areas, their type and distribution, the hour of the day where the trajectory is supposed to be flown and the aircraft type. An illustrative example is given with the design of the East departures at Girona airport, Catalonia. Results point out how the noise annoyance impact of current operational procedures can be significantly reduced by the optimized trajectories and show, as well, an important dependency on the type of aircraft and the hour of the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]