2 Review of Night Quota Schemes at other UK Airports

This note provides information on the night quota schemes in operation at various UK airports. The quota schemes at airports are based on the system used at the London Airports, defined in the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) AIP supplement document ref. 8/20091.

1.1 In 2008, 6.23 million passengers passed through Bristol airport; making it the UK’s fifth largest airport outside the South East and the ninth largest overall. On average there were 230 flights a day in the summer of 2008 and 170 flights a day in the winter of 2008/092. There were 76,517 aircraft movements (60,201 commercial flights and 15,470 general aviation flights) in 2008, which compares with 84,583 in 2006.

1.2 Night flying is restricted through the application of a night noise quota. The current annual quota is 2160 points, with 1260 points for the summer season and 900 points for the winter season. They use the London Airport QC classification as defined in the NATS supplement 8/2009. Up to 10% of the noise quota, if not used in the current season, can be carried over to the following season. Similarly up to 10% of the next season's quota may be anticipated in the event of an overrun. Any excess overrun is penalised in the following season at double the amount of the excess.

1.3 Noise insulation grants have been provided to residential properties that regularly experienced noise levels above an SEL of 90 dB(A), based upon the footprints of the B757-200 and the B737-300. North Somerset Council assisted in the administration of the grant scheme (which has now closed). The scheme covered noise insulation for all bedrooms and up to two living rooms for all eligible dwellings. In addition, extra loft insulation was provided to properties exposed to higher noise levels. Noise insulation was also provided to Felton School.

There is provision for the noise insulation grant scheme to be reassessed if the noise climate alters significantly (an increase of 3dB on the 16 hour LAeq measured over a summer season, which appears to be based on the information in the 2003 Air Transport White Paper).

3.1 Bournemouth Airport implements the following night noise control measures which are described in the Third Schedule of their Annual Monitoring Report. These quotations have been taken from the 2009 report.

A period of winter or summer is defined in S 8/2009 as a ‘season’; 'summer' being the "summer-time period" as fixed by the Summer Time Act 1972(g) and 'winter' being the period between the end of British Summer Time in one year and the start of British Summer Time in the next.

‘1. The Airport Company will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that Aircraft will not be permitted to use reverse thrust braking at Night Time (between the hours of 23:30 – 06:00 hours) except where it is essential for the safe operation of the said aircraft.

The Airport Company will ensure that no circuit or Training Flights (means a flight that is for the sole purpose of testing or training flight personnel, testing aircraft, their engines or accessories) take place at Night Time.

The Airport Company will carry out its operations at the Airport in such a way that the Night Time Quota (means the maximum permitted sum of the Quota Counts of all aircraft taking off or landing at the Airport at Night Time during the Noise Year) is not exceeded.

No Aircraft with a Quota Count (means the amount of the Quota assigned to one takeoff or one landing by the aircraft in question, this number being related to its classification as set out in the Notice (the London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London Stansted Airports Noise Restrictions Notice 2007 or any subsequent notice made under Section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 or any re-enactment with or without modification of that section)) value of 8 or 16 will be allowed to arrive at or depart the Airport at Night Time nor shall an Aircraft with a Quota Count value of 4 be scheduled to arrive at or depart the Airport at Night Time.

Operational diversions by aircraft due to weather, technical problems, security alert, industrial dispute or onboard emergency.

(vii) Movements suffering unavoidable operational delay, where it would lead to serious congestion at the airport, serious hardship or suffering to passengers or animals.

(viii) Early arrivals of aircraft (other than those with a Quota Count exceeding 4) that took off and were scheduled to land after 06:00 hours.

The Night Time Quota for the Initial Night Time Quota Period shall be a Quota Count of 3,100 points per Noise Year (means the period of time where British Summer Time is the local time at the Airport and the immediately following winter season, i.e. the period of time where Greenwich Mean Time is the local time at the Airport) save that aircraft movements listed in Third Schedule paragraph 5 shall not count towards this budget. Points that are unused in any season shall not be carried forward to subsequent seasons.

At least six months before the expiry of the Initial Night Time Noise Quota Period (the period of five years following the beginning of the first Noise Year following Commencement of Development (development registered as having commenced 10.12.07)) the Airport Company shall propose in writing to the Council together with reasoned justifications the Night Time Noise Quota it proposes for the next 5 year period.

Within four months of the receipt of any proposal by the Airport Company under paragraph 2 the Council will notify the Airport Company in writing either that it approves the proposal or that it does not approve it and if so make alternative proposals and give reasonable justification for them.

In the event that a proposal submitted under paragraph 2 is not approved the Airport Company will make further proposals to the Council within 2 months of the receipt of notice from the Council that it is not approved and the Council will respond approving the amended proposals or making alternative proposals and reasoned justification for them within a further two months.

The process in paragraph 4 shall be repeated until agreement is reached save that if either party consider that they are unable to reach agreement the matter may be referred to a Specialist under clause 9 of this Agreement (a person qualified to act as an expert in relation to the dispute).

The procedure set out in paragraphs 4 – 6 shall be repeated prior to the expiry of each successive Night Time Quota period until agreed by the parties or set by the Specialist.

Where the Night Time Quota for any individual Noise Year has not been agreed or set by a Specialist two months before the expiry of the previous Noise Year the Airport Company will continue to comply with the last agreed Night Time Quota until the Winter Season or the Summer Season (as the case may be) following the agreement or setting of a new Night Time Quota whereupon the Airport Company will comply with the new Night Time Quota.

4.1 In 2007, NEMA carried 5.6 million passengers and handled 295,000 tonnes of cargo in 2008. The airport is the 11th largest passenger airport in the UK and the largest “pure freight” airport in the UK (“pure” freight being freight carried in dedicated freighter aircraft).

NEMA does not operate a quota scheme, but instead uses night contour area limits as a control mechanism (according to the published draft Noise Action Plan). They claim to be committed to ensuring that night noise (measured using the 57 dB LAEQ,8h night noise contour) remains at or below the 1996 level (14.6 km²).

5.2 In November 2005 the airport introduced a Noise Sanctions Scheme. The aim of the Noise Sanctions Scheme is to penalise aircraft that generate unreasonable noise levels above the aircraft type expected noise level. The imposition of sanctions in the form of financial penalties is designed to encourage operators to ensure their aircraft are operated as quietly as reasonably possible, and to deter excessively noisy movements. Aircraft found, without reasonable cause, to have exceeded the noise limits during the night time period (23:00 to 07:00) will be subject to a financial penalty of at least £500.

5.3 Robin Hood Airport operates a night noise quota scheme. The restrictions apply to the standard Noise Quota Period (23:30 – 06:00 hours) during which time aircraft are restricted by noise quota. The noisiest types are not allowed to operate at night. In 2006/7, the quota limits were 3875 and 2425 for summer and winter periods respectively. They used just over 10% of the summer quota and less than 1% of the winter quota.

The Sound Insulation Grant Scheme (SIGS) was developed prior to the airport opening based on movement forecasts up to and including 2007. The scheme makes available up to £3000 for glazing and up to £500 for loft insulation for each residential property within the scheme. The scheme is based on noise exposure levels derived from modelling aircraft noise. The noise contours produced from the modelling use a 63 dB LAeq,16h day noise contour, a 55 dB LAeq,8h night contour and a 90 dB SEL contour to define eligibility.

6.1 In 2006 Southend Airport had 38,858 aircraft movements, of which 1,492 were air transport movements and 112 were military, and served approximately 30,000 passengers.

6.2 The airport does not operate a standard quota scheme, though night flying between 2359 and 0600 is limited to certain numbers of particular types of aircraft. In summary, up to 915 aircraft movements are permitted per month during this night period, with a daily limit of 46, excluding turboprops which are unlimited.

No aircraft with a noise level exceeding QC2 shall take off or land at any time, unless they are emergency flights, military flights, Government business flights or police flights or aircraft using the airport for maintenance flights. Night flights cannot be more than QC1.

7.1 There were a total of 99,071 aircraft movements during 2009 (compared with 117,861 in 2008), a decrease of 16%. This resulted in an average 271 movements per 24 hours (in comparison with 322 in 2008).

The airport does not operate a quota scheme but operates within a condition associated with the planning consent granted in 1998. This requires the airport to operate in such a manner that the night noise contours do not exceed the impact which occurred in 1984 in terms of land area affected. In particular, if the area within the predicted or actual 48 dB LAeq,8h contour for an average summer’s night exceeds the 1999 value of 60.6 km2, then the airport must put a scheme in place such that the contour does not exceed 85 km2.

8.1 Some airports levy surcharges on noisy aircraft movements at night. Examples for Nottingham East Midlands and Luton airports are provided:

8.2 Nottingham East Midlands Airport: The airport’s charging regime for both passenger and cargo aircraft includes a Night Environmental Surcharge. This ensures that aircraft that operate during the core night (23:30 – 06:00 hours local time) pay a premium to do so. The level of surcharge is varied depending upon how noisy the aircraft type is. Those aircraft that both depart and arrive during the evening and night will incur a surcharge payment on each element.

8.3 In addition, there is a Shoulder Supplement charge, where £1.55 per tonne or part MTOW is charged on both arrival and departure for arrivals and/or departures between 06:01-07:00 or 21:01-23:29 hours local time. These charges are additional to the airport’s runway charges. Full details of the charging scheme for cargo operations are provided in the document ‘Scale of fees and charges and standard conditions of use’3.

8.4 Luton: The following surcharges are levied if maximum noise levels are recorded at any of the noise monitors between 2300 – 0559 Monday to Saturday, and 2300 – 0659 on Sunday:


	Proposed Night-time Flying Policy \| Aircraft Night Noise Assessment Report \| Night Noise Contours INM Assumptions \| 1 Manston Airport night noise assessment review \| 2 Review of Night Quota Schemes at other UK Airports \| 3 GLOSSARY OF TERMS September 2010 \| Maps \| Night Noise Contours INM Assumptions \| 1 Manston Airport night noise assessment review \| 2 Review of Night Quota Schemes at other UK Airports Thanet District Council Manston Airport Night Noise Review of Night Quota Schemes at other UK Airports 4222827/N02, 9th November 2010 This note provides information on the night quota schemes in operation at various UK airports. The quota schemes at airports are based on the system used at the London Airports, defined in the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) AIP supplement document ref. 8/20091. 1.0 Bristol International Airport 1.1 In 2008, 6.23 million passengers passed through Bristol airport; making it the UK’s fifth largest airport outside the South East and the ninth largest overall. On average there were 230 flights a day in the summer of 2008 and 170 flights a day in the winter of 2008/092. There were 76,517 aircraft movements (60,201 commercial flights and 15,470 general aviation flights) in 2008, which compares with 84,583 in 2006. 1.2 Night flying is restricted through the application of a night noise quota. The current annual quota is 2160 points, with 1260 points for the summer season and 900 points for the winter season. They use the London Airport QC classification as defined in the NATS supplement 8/2009. Up to 10% of the noise quota, if not used in the current season, can be carried over to the following season. Similarly up to 10% of the next season's quota may be anticipated in the event of an overrun. Any excess overrun is penalised in the following season at double the amount of the excess. 1.3 Noise insulation grants have been provided to residential properties that regularly experienced noise levels above an SEL of 90 dB(A), based upon the footprints of the B757-200 and the B737-300. North Somerset Council assisted in the administration of the grant scheme (which has now closed). The scheme covered noise insulation for all bedrooms and up to two living rooms for all eligible dwellings. In addition, extra loft insulation was provided to properties exposed to higher noise levels. Noise insulation was also provided to Felton School. There is provision for the noise insulation grant scheme to be reassessed if the noise climate alters significantly (an increase of 3dB on the 16 hour LAeq measured over a summer season, which appears to be based on the information in the 2003 Air Transport White Paper). Norwich This airport does not appear to have a night quota scheme. Very limited information seems to be available. Bournemouth 3.1 Bournemouth Airport implements the following night noise control measures which are described in the Third Schedule of their Annual Monitoring Report. These quotations have been taken from the 2009 report. 1 National Air Traffic Services (NATS) S 8/2009 -LONDON HEATHROW, LONDON GATWICK AND LONDON STANSTED AIRPORTS NOISE RESTRICTIONS NOTICE 2009 2 A period of winter or summer is defined in S 8/2009 as a ‘season’; 'summer' being the "summer-time period" as fixed by the Summer Time Act 1972(g) and 'winter' being the period between the end of British Summer Time in one year and the start of British Summer Time in the next. ‘1. The Airport Company will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that Aircraft will not be permitted to use reverse thrust braking at Night Time (between the hours of 23:30 – 06:00 hours) except where it is essential for the safe operation of the said aircraft. The Airport Company will ensure that no circuit or Training Flights (means a flight that is for the sole purpose of testing or training flight personnel, testing aircraft, their engines or accessories) take place at Night Time. The Airport Company will carry out its operations at the Airport in such a way that the Night Time Quota (means the maximum permitted sum of the Quota Counts of all aircraft taking off or landing at the Airport at Night Time during the Noise Year) is not exceeded. No Aircraft with a Quota Count (means the amount of the Quota assigned to one takeoff or one landing by the aircraft in question, this number being related to its classification as set out in the Notice (the London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London Stansted Airports Noise Restrictions Notice 2007 or any subsequent notice made under Section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 or any re-enactment with or without modification of that section)) value of 8 or 16 will be allowed to arrive at or depart the Airport at Night Time nor shall an Aircraft with a Quota Count value of 4 be scheduled to arrive at or depart the Airport at Night Time. Paragraphs 1 –4 shall not apply to: Operations by Military, police and Support Aircraft Arrivals and departures by members of the Royal Family and other heads of states. (iii) Air / Sea operations. Emergency oil dispersal operations. (v) Operational diversions by aircraft due to weather, technical problems, security alert, industrial dispute or onboard emergency. (vi) Relief flights for humanitarian purposes where there is a special urgency. (vii) Movements suffering unavoidable operational delay, where it would lead to serious congestion at the airport, serious hardship or suffering to passengers or animals. (viii) Early arrivals of aircraft (other than those with a Quota Count exceeding 4) that took off and were scheduled to land after 06:00 hours. (ix) Medical emergency flights.’ 3.2 The Fourth Schedule discusses the Night-time Noise Budget in detail: The Night Time Quota for the Initial Night Time Quota Period shall be a Quota Count of 3,100 points per Noise Year (means the period of time where British Summer Time is the local time at the Airport and the immediately following winter season, i.e. the period of time where Greenwich Mean Time is the local time at the Airport) save that aircraft movements listed in Third Schedule paragraph 5 shall not count towards this budget. Points that are unused in any season shall not be carried forward to subsequent seasons. At least six months before the expiry of the Initial Night Time Noise Quota Period (the period of five years following the beginning of the first Noise Year following Commencement of Development (development registered as having commenced 10.12.07)) the Airport Company shall propose in writing to the Council together with reasoned justifications the Night Time Noise Quota it proposes for the next 5 year period. Within four months of the receipt of any proposal by the Airport Company under paragraph 2 the Council will notify the Airport Company in writing either that it approves the proposal or that it does not approve it and if so make alternative proposals and give reasonable justification for them. In the event that a proposal submitted under paragraph 2 is not approved the Airport Company will make further proposals to the Council within 2 months of the receipt of notice from the Council that it is not approved and the Council will respond approving the amended proposals or making alternative proposals and reasoned justification for them within a further two months. The process in paragraph 4 shall be repeated until agreement is reached save that if either party consider that they are unable to reach agreement the matter may be referred to a Specialist under clause 9 of this Agreement (a person qualified to act as an expert in relation to the dispute). The Specialist shall hear representations from both parties and take account of the following considerations: Night time noise impact in the preceding years, Night time noise complaints, (iii) Past and future air traffic movements for night time, The economic, social, environmental and commercial impacts of the proposed noise budget, Policies and budgets at other relevant UK regional airports, National or regional policy Guidance that may be relevant, (vii) Economic and social benefits existing or projected in relation to the Airport The procedure set out in paragraphs 4 – 6 shall be repeated prior to the expiry of each successive Night Time Quota period until agreed by the parties or set by the Specialist. Where the Night Time Quota for any individual Noise Year has not been agreed or set by a Specialist two months before the expiry of the previous Noise Year the Airport Company will continue to comply with the last agreed Night Time Quota until the Winter Season or the Summer Season (as the case may be) following the agreement or setting of a new Night Time Quota whereupon the Airport Company will comply with the new Night Time Quota. 4.0 Nottingham East Midlands Airport 4.1 In 2007, NEMA carried 5.6 million passengers and handled 295,000 tonnes of cargo in 2008. The airport is the 11th largest passenger airport in the UK and the largest “pure freight” airport in the UK (“pure” freight being freight carried in dedicated freighter aircraft). NEMA does not operate a quota scheme, but instead uses night contour area limits as a control mechanism (according to the published draft Noise Action Plan). They claim to be committed to ensuring that night noise (measured using the 57 dB LAEQ,8h night noise contour) remains at or below the 1996 level (14.6 km²). Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield 5.1 In 2006/7, the airport served over 980,000 passengers. 5.2 In November 2005 the airport introduced a Noise Sanctions Scheme. The aim of the Noise Sanctions Scheme is to penalise aircraft that generate unreasonable noise levels above the aircraft type expected noise level. The imposition of sanctions in the form of financial penalties is designed to encourage operators to ensure their aircraft are operated as quietly as reasonably possible, and to deter excessively noisy movements. Aircraft found, without reasonable cause, to have exceeded the noise limits during the night time period (23:00 to 07:00) will be subject to a financial penalty of at least £500. 5.3 Robin Hood Airport operates a night noise quota scheme. The restrictions apply to the standard Noise Quota Period (23:30 – 06:00 hours) during which time aircraft are restricted by noise quota. The noisiest types are not allowed to operate at night. In 2006/7, the quota limits were 3875 and 2425 for summer and winter periods respectively. They used just over 10% of the summer quota and less than 1% of the winter quota. The Sound Insulation Grant Scheme (SIGS) was developed prior to the airport opening based on movement forecasts up to and including 2007. The scheme makes available up to £3000 for glazing and up to £500 for loft insulation for each residential property within the scheme. The scheme is based on noise exposure levels derived from modelling aircraft noise. The noise contours produced from the modelling use a 63 dB LAeq,16h day noise contour, a 55 dB LAeq,8h night contour and a 90 dB SEL contour to define eligibility. Southend 6.1 In 2006 Southend Airport had 38,858 aircraft movements, of which 1,492 were air transport movements and 112 were military, and served approximately 30,000 passengers. 6.2 The airport does not operate a standard quota scheme, though night flying between 2359 and 0600 is limited to certain numbers of particular types of aircraft. In summary, up to 915 aircraft movements are permitted per month during this night period, with a daily limit of 46, excluding turboprops which are unlimited. No aircraft with a noise level exceeding QC2 shall take off or land at any time, unless they are emergency flights, military flights, Government business flights or police flights or aircraft using the airport for maintenance flights. Night flights cannot be more than QC1. Luton 7.1 There were a total of 99,071 aircraft movements during 2009 (compared with 117,861 in 2008), a decrease of 16%. This resulted in an average 271 movements per 24 hours (in comparison with 322 in 2008). The airport does not operate a quota scheme but operates within a condition associated with the planning consent granted in 1998. This requires the airport to operate in such a manner that the night noise contours do not exceed the impact which occurred in 1984 in terms of land area affected. In particular, if the area within the predicted or actual 48 dB LAeq,8h contour for an average summer’s night exceeds the 1999 value of 60.6 km2, then the airport must put a scheme in place such that the contour does not exceed 85 km2. Night surcharges 8.1 Some airports levy surcharges on noisy aircraft movements at night. Examples for Nottingham East Midlands and Luton airports are provided: 8.2 Nottingham East Midlands Airport: The airport’s charging regime for both passenger and cargo aircraft includes a Night Environmental Surcharge. This ensures that aircraft that operate during the core night (23:30 – 06:00 hours local time) pay a premium to do so. The level of surcharge is varied depending upon how noisy the aircraft type is. Those aircraft that both depart and arrive during the evening and night will incur a surcharge payment on each element. 8.3 In addition, there is a Shoulder Supplement charge, where £1.55 per tonne or part MTOW is charged on both arrival and departure for arrivals and/or departures between 06:01-07:00 or 21:01-23:29 hours local time. These charges are additional to the airport’s runway charges. Full details of the charging scheme for cargo operations are provided in the document ‘Scale of fees and charges and standard conditions of use’3. 8.4 Luton: The following surcharges are levied if maximum noise levels are recorded at any of the noise monitors between 2300 – 0559 Monday to Saturday, and 2300 – 0659 on Sunday: >82 – 85 dB(A) – 300% surcharge >85 – 88 dB(A) – 500% surcharge >88 dB(A) – 600% surcharge *** Scale of fees and charges and standard conditions of use (for cargo aircraft only) – Effective from 1st April 2008