Managing noise on the ground

There are several main causes of noise on the ground at airports:

• Planes using reverse thrust to assist their braking when they land
• Planes travelling (taxiing) between the runway and stands (their ‘parking space’)
• Planes sitting on their stands with their power units running
• Planes testing their engines after repairs.

So what are we doing to reduce the noise?

• We’re discouraging pilots from using ‘reverse thrust’ when they land.
  Reverse thrust is aid to braking, once the plane has landed. There are some situations, though – a wet runway for instance – where reverse thrust still needs to be used to add braking power. Because of the noise, the Government asks pilots not to use reverse thrust between 11.30pm and 6am unless they have to for safety reasons.
• We’re working with Air Traffic Control to cut down the amount of time that planes are waiting to take off, or are taxiing on the ground, so that the engines aren’t running for so long.
• We’re plugging planes into the mains electrical supply, while they are on stand.
  This is a system known as Fixed Electrical Ground Power and it can replace the noisy power units on the plane itself. It allows things like interior lighting and the air conditioning systems to be operating.
• We’re trialing pre-conditioned air on planes.
  This is so that they don’t have to run their engines to keep the plane at a cool temperature while it is on the stand.
• We’re using landscaping (such as earth barriers and walls), to provide noise barriers between the planes and the local community.
• We’ve created special noise-protected areas, called engine ground-run pens and introduced special regulations on engine testing at night.
  These are needed for engine testing, and we are working with airlines to reduce engine testing noise at night.