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Aircraft Noise

Methodology Adopted for Assessing Aircraft Noise Impact

1. Throughout the new airport master planning process, the Airport Authority in conjunction with the government have conducted assessments to determine the effects of aircraft noise impacts on off-airport areas. The noise evaluation was conducted in accordance with guidelines set out by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the U. S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA's Integrated Noise Model (INM) which is considered a state-of-the-art tool for assessing airport noise exposure, was used to generate noise contours.

2. The noise impact arising from aircraft operation can be represented by the Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF), a criterion which takes into account the duration of flyover, the peak noise level, the tonal characteristics and the number of aircraft movements in both the daytime and night-time period. For the new airport at Chek Lap Kok, the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines stipulate a more stringent criterion of NEF 25 contour (as against NEF 30 for Kai Tak Airport) for planning of noise sensitive land uses. This criterion is in line with the international standards adopted by the developed countries.

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Results of Noise Impact Assessment

3. According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) completed by the Airport Authority in 1991/92 and its update completed in 1998, only a very small number of residents in North Lantau, predominantly in Sha Lo Wan, are within the coverage of the NEF 25 contour of the new airport at design capacity and regarded as subject to aircraft noise beyond acceptable level from a planning and land use point of view.

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Measured Noise Levels

4. CAD has conducted noise measurements in several districts under the flight paths. The measured noise levels are summarised in the table below:-

Measured Noise Levels at Various Districts
(1 April 2012 - 31 March 2013)

 
Distribution of Noise Levels
Affected by Operation
(Runway/Operation)
Lmax (Note 1)
<65 dB(A)
65–69.9 dB(A)
70–74.9 dB(A)
≧75 dB(A)
Sha Lo Wan
80.1%
13.0%
6.1%
0.9%
07R,07L,25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L,25R.25L/Departure (Note 3)
Tung Chung
86.7%
11.5%
1.6%
0.2%
 07R,07L,25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L,25R.25L/Departure (Note 3)
Sunny Bay
56.6%
35.3%
7.5%
0.6%
 25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Ma Wan
62.0%
26.9%
9.5%
1.6%
 25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Tsing Yi #1
97.4%
1.9%
0.8%
0.0%
 25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Tsing Yi #2
96.9%
2.7%
0.3%
0.1%
 25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Tai Lam Chung
94.3%
5.2%
0.4%
0.1%
 25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Tsing Lung Tau
62.6%
20.4%
16.0%
1.0%
 25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Ting Kau
73.5%
15.0%
11.2%
0.4%
 25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Tsuen Wan
84.2%
13.0%
2.7%
0.1%
 25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Kwai Chung
98.1%
1.6%
0.3%
0.0%
 25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Tai Wai
96.8%
3.1%
0.1%
0.0%
 25R,25L/Arrival (Note 2)
Mid-Levels
95.1%
4.3%
0.5%
0.1%
 07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
North Point
91.5%
6.5%
1.7%
0.3%
 07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Jardine's Lookout
93.8%
4.9%
1.2%
0.1%
 07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)
Shau Kei Wan
94.9%
3.8%
1.1%
0.1%
 07R,07L/Departure (Note 3)

Note 1 Lmax is the maximum instantaneous noise level of a noise event.
Note 2 Please refer to Appendix A(Open with new window) in Flight Path Section for the arrival flight path arrangement.
Note 3 Please refer to Appendix B(Open with new window) in Flight Path Section for the departure flight path arrangement.

5. Since airport opening, several briefings on aircraft noise and flight paths have been given to the concerned District Councils including Kwai Tsing, Shatin, Tsuen Wan, Central & Western, Kowloon City, Southern, Yau Tsim Mong, Wanchai, Eastern, Northern, Islands, Tuen Mun and Sai Kung.

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Aircraft Noise Mitigating Measures

6. Despite the findings that there is no violation of the noise standards set for the new airport, the government is conscious of the effect that night-time aircraft operations may have on local communities and has developed a number of initiatives to try to reduce the disturbance caused by these aircraft. Briefly, these are:-

a) since October 1998, between midnight and 07:00 am, arriving aircraft are required to land from the southwest, subject to acceptable wind direction and safety consideration. This measure aims to reduce the number of aircraft overflying populated areas like Shatin, Tsuen Wan, Sham Tseng and Tsing Lung Tau;

b) since October 1998, aircraft departing to the northeast of the airport between midnight and 07:00 am are required to use the southbound route via the West Lamma Channel, subject to acceptable operational and safety consideration. This measure aims to reduce the number of aircraft overflying populated districts like Hung Hom, North Point, Shaukeiwan and Chai Wan (Following further consultation with the district boards and detailed assessment by CAD, the application period was revised from midnight – 07:00 am to 11:00 pm – 07:00 am starting from 7 January 1999);

c) since August 1999, to reduce the noise impact on areas located in the vicinity of the airport, aircraft departing to the northeast of the airport are required to adopt the noise abatement take-off procedures. Under these procedures, aircraft are required to maintain a specified speed and power level during the initial phase of the take-off so as to attain a higher altitude within a short distance. In order to further alleviate the noise impact during take-offs, ICAO revised the noise abatement take-off procedures. These new procedures require aircraft to initiate noise abatement procedures by means of power reduction upon reaching an altitude of 800ft or above, whereas in the old procedures, the minimum altitudes for initiating noise abatement procedures are higher. Starting from 1 March 2002, aircraft departing to the northeast of the airport are required to adopt the new noise abatement departure procedures; and

d) effective from 31 October 1999, airlines are not allowed to schedule noisy aircraft* between 11:00 pm and 07:00 am. To be in line with international practice in phasing out noisier aircraft, starting from 1 July 2002, all noisy aircraft* are not allowed to land or take off in Hong Kong around-the-clock. (* noisy aircraft refer to those which do not comply with the noise standard in Chapter 3 of Annex 16 Volume I, Part II to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.)

e) starting from 10 August 2000, all aircraft on approach to the HKIA from the northeast between 11:00 pm to 07:00 am are encouraged to adopt the Continuous Descent Approach (CDA). As aircraft on CDA fly higher and normally on a low power / low drag configuration, noise experienced in areas such as Sai Kung and Ma On Shan will be lowered.

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Aircraft Noise Monitoring

7. CAD is closely monitoring the implementation of the above noise mitigating measures. An aircraft noise and flight track monitoring system has been installed to help evaluate the track keeping performance and noise impact of aircraft operating to and from the airport. At present, there are a total of sixteen noise monitoring terminals installed which are located respectively at Sha Lo Wan, Tung Chung, Sunny Bay (formerly known as Yam O), Ma Wan, Tsing Yi (2 terminals), Tam Lam Chung, Tsing Lung Tau, Ting Kau, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung, Tai Wai, Mid-Levels, North Point, Jardine's Lookout and Shau Kei Wan.

8. As regards the measures mentioned in paragraph 6(a) & (b) above, tables 1 & 2 below show the achievement figures. The result indicates that a high percentage of achievement has been attained during the periods covered by the measures. These measures could not be applied only on a small number of occasions due to various operational reasons including prevailing wind conditions, maintenance of navigation aids prior to flight calibration, or air traffic conflicts.

Table 1 – Achievement record for aircraft arriving between 00:01 and 07:00 hours to land from the southwest when wind conditions and traffic situation permit.
Year
Total number of aircraft arriving between 00:01 and 07:00 hours
Total number of aircraft landed from the southwest during the same period
Achievement Rate (%)
1998 (Oct-Dec)
1,066
1,037
97.3%
1999
4,720
4,293
91.0%
2000
5,695
5,248
92.2%
2001
5,526
5,201
94.1%
2002
7,065
6,660
94.3%
2003
6,838
6,409
93.7%
2004
8,641
7,958
92.1%
2005
10,865
9,437
86.9%
2006
12,622
11,126
88.1%
2007
14,002
11,950
85.3%
2008
14,869
13,263
89.2%
2009
13,266
12,201
92.0%
2010
17,126
14,704
85.9%
2011
19,713
17,174
87.1%
2012
21,099
18,006
85.3%

Year 2013

Month
Total number of aircraft arriving between 00:01 and 07:00 hours
Total number of aircraft landed from the southwest during the same period
Achievement Rate (%)
January
1,904
1,904
100.0%
February
1,608
1,601
99.6%
March
2,008
1,985
98.9%


Table 2 – Achievement record for aircraft departing on Runway 07 between 23:00 and 07:00 hours (Note 1) to use the southbound route via the West Lamma Channel.
Year
Total number of aircraft departing on Runway 07 between 23:00 and 07:00 hours*
Total number of departing aircraft using the southbound route during the same period
Achievement Rate (%)
1998 (Oct-Dec)
802
794
99.0%
1999
5,913
5,871
99.3%
2000
9,737
9,686
99.5%
2001
10,790
10,634
98.6%
2002
11,416
11,365
99.6%
2003
11,382
11,340
99.6%
2004
14,104
13,989
99.2%
2005
16,115
15941
98.9%
2006
18,533
18,340
99.0%
2007
19,596
19,449
99.2%
2008
21,492
21,239
98.8%
2009
21,162
21,034
99.4%
2010
23,195
22,860
98.6%
2011
25,389
25,170
99.1%
2012
26,705
26,605
99.6%

Year 2013

Month
Total number of aircraft departing on Runway 07 between 23:00 and 07:00 hours*
Total number of departing aircraft using the southbound route during the same period
Achievement Rate (%)
January
2,715
2,710
99.8%
February
2,421
2,417
99.8%
March
2,859
2,854
99.8%

Note 1: Prior to 7 January 1999, the period was 00:01 – 07:00 hours.

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Aircraft Noise Complaint

9. Complaint Hotline: 2769 6969
Email: aircraftnoise@cad.gov.hk(Open with new window)
Fax: 2795 8469
Aircraft Noise Complaint Office
Civil Aviation Department Headquarters
1 Tung Fai Road, Hong Kong International Airport
Lantau, Hong Kong