"British airports ignore EU ban on noisy jets"

Wednesday, April 3, 2002

British airports ignore EU ban on noisy jets
by Ben Webster
United Kingdom - The London Times


BRITAIN'S main airports are planning to ignore a European directive designed
to protect those living under flight paths by removing the noisiest jets.

The disturbance suffered by communities around airports is now expected to
worsen after a decade of improvement.

The directive, approved last week by the European Union member states
including Britain, gives airports the power to ban certain 20 to 30-year-old
jets which are far noisier than modern aircraft.

These aircraft escaped a European Union ban last year after furious protests
from US airlines, which would have seen 600 of their aircraft prohibited
from landing in Europe. The EU decided instead to implement the ban on an
airport by airport basis, giving member states or their airports the right
to impose the restrictions, but not making them compulsory.

The noise difference between a 1970s Boeing 737-200 and a modern 737-800
passing overhead has been likened to hearing a lawnmower in the next garden
compared with at the end of the street.

Under the noise limits proposed in the directive, airlines would be forced
to use quieter jets for more than 1,000 flights a week at airports across
Britain. Ryanair would be affected most by the ban as it has 21 737-200s
based at Stansted.

Other European airports, including Salzburg in Austria and Schipol in The
Netherlands, have already banned the 737-200 and other similarly noisy
aircraft such as the 747-200 and the DC10.

BAA, which runs Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and four regional airports, said
that it had no plans to implement the directive. A spokesman said that BAA
would wait until the aircraft were "naturally phased out" by the airlines.
This could take a decade.

"We would look to the Government to lead on the interpretation of this EU
legislation in the UK as they regulate aviation noise levels in Britain," a
BAA spokesman said.

The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions said: "We
envisage that airport operators will implement the directive."

The Government has said that it may take action to combat noise at Heathrow,
Gatwick and Stansted, but there are unlikely to be any proposals until next
year.

The Aviation Environment Federation, a coalition of environmental groups,
said that the refusal by both BAA and the Government to take responsibility
indicated the weakness of the directive.

"It is not binding on either Governments or airports so they are free to
ignore it. What is needed is a Europe-wide agreement on phasing out noisy
jets," Tim Johnson, the federation's director, said.

He said that noise disturbance would steadily increase as air travel
increased again after the blip after September 11. The number of flights is
expected to double by 2015 but aircraft manufacturers admit that they are
already operating near the limits of what technology can do to reduce noise.

Clearskies, a group seeking to limit the environmental impact of aviation,
said that BAA was betraying a pledge to help communities plagued by aircraft
noise. "BAA has tried to sell itself as environmentally friendly, but its
hypocrisy has now been exposed because it refuses to use the powers granted
by the European Union," John Stewart, the Clearskies chairman, said.

The new directive will apply to a generation of jets, known as "chapter
three" aircraft, which just escaped the restriction on "chapter two" jets
built in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Several airlines, including Ryanair and some charter companies, have
converted older aircraft to beat the chapter two ban by fitting "hush kits"
to muffle the noise from engines.

A ban on chapter two jets came into force on Monday. Most airlines,
including British Airways, replaced those aircraft affected at least a year
ago. The industry has refused to accept any date for phasing out chapter
three aircraft. It has also persuaded the International Civil Aviation
Organisation to impose only a modest target for the noise levels of future
aircraft.

Ryanair hopes to phase out 737-200s by the end of 2005.

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