Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC
Efforts to develop a new aircraft noise certification standard will advance this week when the International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) Committee of Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) senior members meet in Seattle to review the results of cost/benefit analyses into a range of scenarios for the transition to a Chapter 4.
Later this month, ICAO will hold a hearing on the USA's Article 84 protest against the European Union's so-called hushkit ban - an issue which has ignited controversy under efforts to agree a new international standard for aircraft noise reduction.
The CAEP steering group will review the analyses of 26 different options, based on the combination of three different noise reduction standards and seven transition scenarios, and try to narrow the choice to between three and eight of the most promising scenarios.
The full CAEP meeting in January will decide which of the scenarios to recommend to the ICAO Council for adoption in September.
Noise standards under examination involve cumulative 8dB, 11dB and 14dB reductions from Chapter 3 limits. Transition scenarios range from doing nothing to providing a new noise certification standard and requiring the aggressive phase-out of Chapter 3 aircraft.
Proponents of the -8dB option contend it will provide the greatest assurance that current Chapter 3 aircraft can continue to operate, but opponents argue it is too lenient and could result in tougher regional noise standards. Proponents of the -14dB option assert it will encourage innovative approaches to reducing noise, but critics say it is too far beyond current standards to be practical.
The air transport industry, meanwhile, is anxious to preserve its investment in Chapter 3 aircraft while pushing for a single global standard that will prevent the proliferation of regional noise limits like the EU's hushkit ban.
The USA argues that the ban, aimed at so-called "marginally compliant" Chapter 3 aircraft, is not compliant with international standards. If the ICAO rules in the USA's favour in mid-October, it will direct both parties to negotiate a resolution the dispute.
Source: Flight International
