More airlines are joining a coalition to push for a single global standard for aircraft noise reduction, amid fears that a proliferation of local and regional noise limits could harm the international air transport industry.
The Coalition for a Global Standard on Aviation Noise will work to reach a consensus enabling the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to agree more stringent noise limits in September next year, says chairman Gerald Baliles.
All major North and South American airlines, and an increasing number of African, Asian and European carriers, are joining the coalition, which includes major aircraft and engine manufacturers, airport operators and pilots' unions.
The coalition has been formed in response to concerns that European politicians, under pressure from environmentalists, could break ranks with the international community and establish tougher regional noise standards.
The ICAO's Civil Aviation Environmental Panel (CAEP) has been given the task of developing a new Chapter 4 noise standard, but the stringency options identified so far have failed to unite the industry.
Baliles says the coalition does not support one particular option, but wants to ensure the responsibility for establishing standards remains with the ICAO. "The failure of ICAO to adopt Chapter 4 would put at risk the stability of the entire aviation system," he says.
Members of the coalition have signed up to support three principles, says Baliles:
• Preservation of a single global standard for noise reduction.
• Protection of airline investment in Chapter 3 aircraft.
• Development of an effective and technically feasible noise standard.
CAEP has narrowed its stringency options from 26 to 19, ahead of a meeting in September at which other organisations, including the EU, are expected to propose alternative approaches. The Chapter 4 standard is due to be agreed in January and recommended for adoption by the ICAO Assembly in September next year.
Source: Flight International
