 |
Methodology Adopted for Assessing Aircraft
Noise Impact
Results
of Noise Impact Assessment
Measured
Noise Levels
Aircraft
Noise Mitigating Measures
Aircraft
Noise Monitoring
Average Hourly Aircraft Movement in Summer 2008
Aircraft
Noise Complaint
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.
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.
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 (Apr 2008 – Mar 2009)
| |
Distribution
of Noise Levels |
Affected
by Operation
(Runway/Operation) |
| Lmax
#1 |
<65
dB(A) |
65 – 70 dB(A) |
70 – 75 dB(A)
|
>75
dB(A) |
| Shatin |
98.31% |
1.43% |
0.16% |
0.09% |
25R, 25L/Arrival#2 &
07R, 07L/Departure#3 |
| Kwai Chung |
96.77% |
2.04% |
1.10% |
0.07% |
25R, 25L/Arrival#2 &
07R, 07L/Departure#3 |
| Ting Kau |
70.01% |
15.17% |
14.04% |
0.77% |
25R, 25L/Arrival#2 &
07R, 07L/Departure#3 |
| Tsing Lung Tau |
61.38% |
17.61% |
19.52% |
1.74% |
25R, 25L/Arrival#2 &
07R, 07L/Departure#3 |
| Western Tsuen Wan |
83.93% |
12.49% |
3.38% |
0.18% |
25R, 25L/Arrival#2 &
07R, 07L/Departure#3 |
| North Tsing Yi |
96.27% |
1.91% |
1.60% |
0.20% |
25R, 25L/Arrival#2 &
07R, 07L/Departure#3 |
| North Point |
92.78% |
4.67% |
2.22% |
0.31% |
25R, 25L/Arrival#2 &
07R, 07L/Departure#3 |
| Mid Level |
96.69% |
2.70% |
0.53% |
0.06% |
25R, 25L/Arrival#2 &
07R, 07L/Departure#3 |
| Ma Wan |
67.63% |
18.85% |
10.70% |
2.80% |
25R, 25L/Arrival#2 &
07R, 07L/Departure#3 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Tung Chung |
91.80% |
7.07% |
0.95% |
0.17% |
25R, 25L/Arrival#2 & Departure#3 07R, 07L/Arrival#2& Departure#3 |
| Note: |
|
| #1 |
Lmax is the maximum instantaneous
noise level of a noise event. |
| #2 |
Please refer to Appendix
A in Flight Path Section for the arrival flight path
arrangement. |
| #3 |
Please refer to Appendix
B 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.
Aircraft
Noise Mitigrating 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.
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, Yam O, Ting Kau, Tai Lam, Tsing Yi (2
nos.), Kwai Chung, Tai Wai, Mid-levels in Central, North Point,
East mid-level, Shaukeiwan, West Tsuen Wan, Tsing Lung Tau
and Ma 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. |
| |
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 |
January |
1,175 |
1,155 |
98.3% |
February |
1,117 |
1,117 |
100.0% |
March |
1,250 |
1,250 |
100.0% |
April |
1,324 |
1,138 |
86.0% |
May |
1,302 |
1,111 |
85.3% |
June |
1,245 |
695 |
55.8% |
July |
1,214 |
867 |
71.4% |
August |
1,258 |
1,055 |
83.9% |
September |
1,195 |
1,159 |
97.0% |
October |
1,250 |
1,177 |
94.2% |
November |
1,312 |
1,312 |
100.0% |
December |
1,227 |
1,227 |
100.0% |
| 2009 |
January |
1,160 |
1,160 |
100.0% |
February |
947 |
902 |
95.2% |
March |
1,090 |
1,040 |
95.4% |
| 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. |
|
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 (20th Oct.-31 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 |
January |
1,909 |
1,900 |
99.5% |
February |
1,842 |
1,816 |
98.6% |
March |
2,015 |
2,008 |
99.7% |
April |
1,778 |
1,769 |
99.5% |
May |
1,712 |
1,701 |
99.4% |
June |
1,110 |
1,091 |
98.3% |
July |
1,523 |
1,488 |
97.7% |
Augest |
1,751 |
1,693 |
96.7% |
September |
1,894 |
1,864 |
98.4% |
October |
2,009 |
1,987 |
98.9% |
November |
1,983 |
1,967 |
99.2% |
December |
1,966 |
1,955 |
99.4% |
| 2009 |
January |
1,816 |
1,808 |
99.6% |
February |
1,507 |
1,503 |
99.7% |
March |
1,749 |
1,736 |
99.3% |
| Note 1: |
Prior to 7 January 1999,
the period was 00:01 – 07:00 hours. |
Average Hourly Aircraft Movement (Civil International only, excluding helicopter movements) in Summer 2008
| Local
Time |
Number
of Aircraft Movements |
Local
Time
|
Number
of Aircraft Movements |
| 00:01-01:00
|
31
|
12:01-13:00
|
49 |
01:01-02:00
|
14 |
13:01-14:00
|
52 |
02:01-03:00
|
8 |
14:01-15:00
|
42 |
03:01-04:00
|
10 |
15:01-16:00
|
48 |
04:01-05:00
|
9 |
16:01-17:00
|
50 |
05:01-06:00
|
11 |
17:01-18:00
|
42 |
06:01-07:00
|
9 |
18:01-19:00
|
43 |
07:01-08:00
|
17 |
19:01-20:00
|
44 |
08:01-09:00
|
26 |
20:01-21:00
|
41 |
09:01-10:00
|
46 |
21:01-22:00
|
40 |
10:01-11:00
|
51 |
22:01-23:00
|
41 |
11:01-12:00
|
56 |
23:01-24:00
|
26 |
Aircraft
Noise Complaint
| 9. |
Complaint Hotline: |
2769 6969 |
|
Email: |
aircraftnoise@cad.gov.hk |
|
Fax: |
2326 3654 |
|
|
|
|
Noise Complaint Office |
|
46/F, Queensway Government Offices |
|
66 Queensway |
|
Hong Kong |
|
|