Capturing aircraft noise complaints: A survey of current practices at UK airports

Despite continued improvements in aircraft technology, aircraft noise remains one of the most socially contentious aspects of airport operations and the externality effect that is most likely to provoke a negative response from local airport residents and neighbouring communities. Aircraft noise is both a quality of life and a sustainability issue and planning permission for airport development, modification to existing operating hours and/or changes to flightpaths in the UK requires the provision of strict noise management and mitigation strategies. Collecting and monitoring complaints about aircraft noise is one mechanism through which airports, local authorities and national regulators can review levels of community annoyance and analyse reactions to changes in noise exposure. Nevertheless, airports are under no obligation to collect noise complaints and the absence of a standard UK-wide approach means that individual airports adopt different practices. This paper reports on a desk-top survey of the variety of mechanisms used by the UK’s 25 busiest passenger airports to capture noise complaints. The findings have important implications for airports, in terms of cost and transparency, and for local authorities and regulators who may need to compare the frequency or occurrence of noise complaint data between sites to determine their relative impact or the likely implications of planning applications. The paper concludes with recommendations for policy and practice.