In its annual report, the Airport Nuisance Control Authority proposes a series of measures to limit noise in nearby residential areas.
Noise is a real ordeal for residents of residential areas surrounding airports. While some are a bit isolated, others are in the heart of an urban area, such as Orly airport. To limit their impact, especially on the health of residents, the airport nuisance control authority (ACNUSA) recommends, in its report published on Monday, to take a series of fairly restrictive measures.
Central point of the claims: night take-offs and landings. To improve the nights of the inhabitants, ACNUSA proposes in particular to prohibit the noisiest planes from taking off between midnight and 5:30 am. A measure already adopted at Nice-Côte d’Azur and Toulouse-Blagnac airports, “without this posing any particular difficulties,” said the airport policeman. “The most annoying planes have almost disappeared from the platform at night,” he rejoices.
Calm nights
For large international airports like Roissy-Charles de Gaulle, the task promises to be more complicated. Except that, as ACNUSA reminds us, it has two take-off areas each made up of two runways, which could be used alternately to manage the 55,000 movements observed there each year between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. morning.
For a week or two in a row, residents on one side of the airport would have quieter nights. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) has announced that an experiment in this direction could be set up, but would not take effect before October.
Another recommendation immediately swept aside by the DGAC and airport management companies, the establishment of a night without theft. ACNUSA would recommend that one evening a week, Friday or Saturday, it is prohibited to land or take off between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., whenever possible. For obvious economic reasons, it seems unlikely that this measure will be accepted.
Put your hand in your pocket
Despite all this advice, the inhabitants of zones I of the noise annoyance plan (PGS), those closest to the airports, will always be disturbed. This is the case, for example, in Villeneuve-Le-Roi (near Orly), where 197 housing units are exposed to a great deal of noise. For those, ACNUSA proposes the creation of a fund, financed by the airports, which could buy the house of the residents who wish it, at a value which would correspond to the market price without noise pollution.
A utopia no doubt, as the cost could prove to be important for airport structures. A nuisance compensation fund is, however, already in place around Paris-CDG and Orly, intended for projects to improve the quality of life of residents and in particular soundproofing. This fund could be extended to other major French airports.
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