According to Jon Woodward, Landrum & Brown Executive, the survey would not have been possible without the assistance and cooperation of the noise program managers at the surveyed airports. “We know that the participants in our survey are very busy, and we want to express our gratitude to each of them for taking the time to make the survey a success and for sharing their information with us and their peers across the industry,” said Woodward.

Below is a summary of the information that was compiled from the survey regarding noise mitigation programs at airports around the U.S. and abroad.

General Airport Information

Of the airports chosen to participate, 44 returned surveys. The airports represented in the matrix are located in every FAA region except Alaska, as well as five airports located in Europe and Australia. Airports were asked to report their annual number of operations for the years 2000 and 2003. The average annual number of operations reported on the survey for 2000 was 394,842 or 1,082 operations per day. The average annual number of operations reported on the survey for 2003 was 381,963 or 1,047 operations per day, representing a 3.3-percent decrease in average annual operations since 2000.
The surveyed airports are typically within 10 miles of metropolitan centers and are surrounded by a multitude of land uses, ranging from dense urban to agriculture. All but one reported that the airport was bounded by some type of residential land use. Of the airports surveyed, 56 percent were located in a dense urban environment, 28 percent were located in suburban areas surrounded by residential land use, and 16 percent were located in suburban areas but surrounded predominantly by commercial or industrial land uses.

Noise Abatement Initiatives

Of the airports surveyed, 26 currently have pilot awareness programs. These programs consist of but are not limited to airport bulletins, airport user meetings, pilot meetings, email reminders, signage, Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS), brochures, letters, airport programs, Air Traffic Control (ATC), Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs), Jeppesen charts, and FAA-led education programs.

Thirty of the domestic airports surveyed have completed an FAR Part 150 study. Seventeen of those airports have updated or are in the process of updating their Part 150 noise compatibility and land use planning programs.
Operational Noise Abatement Measures

The majority of airports participating in the survey have adopted operational changes to direct more traffic over areas less sensitive to aircraft noise. These programs consist primarily of preferential runway use and preferential flight track programs. The most common problem addressed through the development of these programs is nighttime noise. These operational preferences occur during nighttime hours and limit the use of specific runways and develop specific arrival and departure routes close to the airport.

Noise Attenuation Devices

Of the airports surveyed, 40 reported that they have adopted ground run-up restrictions that limit the location and time in which aircraft are allowed to conduct run-ups. To help mitigate the noise created during aircraft run-ups 10 airports have constructed ground run-up enclosures (GREs) at their airports. Sixteen others use noise walls, earth berms, and other noise attenuation devices to help mitigate aircraft run-up noise to the areas surrounding the airports.

Airport Noise Monitoring Systems

To allow airport personnel the ability to monitor the movement of aircraft around the surrounding airport communities and help monitor aircraft noise, airports have begun to purchase and maintain airport noise monitoring and flight tracking systems. Over 70 percent of the airports surveyed have purchased these systems. The average number of permanent noise monitors used by the surveyed airports as part of their airport noise monitoring and flight tracking systems is 16. Also, 66 percent of the surveyed airports have purchased portable noise monitors. These monitors are primarily used in a case-by-case basis for monitoring noise at specific homes or other noise-sensitive locations.

Sound Insulation

Those airports surveyed that have sound insulation programs as part of their noise mitigation programs spend an average of approximately $27,500 per home to sound insulate, ranging from $12,385 to $60,000 per dwelling. Listed below is a breakdown of the approximate costs associated with sound insulating a home by FAA Region, from the survey data.

FAA Region
Great Lakes – $28,000
Northeast - $30,000
Northwest Mountain - $26,000
Southern – $21,000
Southwest - $26,350
Western Pacific - $33,000

The cost of sound-insulating schools averaged more than $1.5 million for those airports surveyed. Other noise-sensitive structures that have been included in sound insulation programs at the surveyed airports include churches, libraries, and nursing homes.

Airport Noise Contours

All domestic airports surveyed have developed noise contours. Eighty-seven percent of those contours have been developed since the 1999 phase out of large Stage 2 aircraft. The majority of these contours are available for public viewing on airport-specific websites. On average, domestic airports update their noise contours every one to two years. International airports surveyed update their noise contours within every five years. Nearly half of the domestic airports surveyed have adopted the practice of updating their contours annually or quarterly as part of their noise mitigation programs. Of the airports that do so, almost all have airport noise monitoring and flight tracking systems onsite to assist in updating the contours in such short timeframes.

The average size of the 65+ DNL noise contour for the surveyed airports encompassed approximately 12 square miles and included over 5,000 homes within it. There are many variables that play a part in the size and shape of the noise contours. Each airport is different with regard to fleet mixes operating at the airport, surrounding land use, and runway layout.

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To learn more about the information discussed above please consult the complete noise matrix, which is available for download, compliments of Landrum & Brown, at the company’s website. The downloadable file is an Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file of the entire survey matrix, as well as the detailed footnotes to the matrix. Visit www.landrum-brown.com/page.aspx?id=110 to download the survey results.