Aircraft noise and public health: the evidence is loud and clear : [report] commissioned by HACAN (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) and the Aviation Environment Trust from the Aviation Environment Federation / James Lees with contributions from Cait Hewitt and Tim Johnson. – London : Aviation Environment Federation, January 2016. – 60 p. [PDF, 636 kB].
Evidence that has accumulated over 20 years indicates that aircraft noise has pervasive impacts on public health around airports. At least one million people’s health in the UK could be affected by aircraft noise. The health costs from aircraft noise across the UK have been conservatively estimated to be in the region of £540 million each year (See section 2.2.3). However, aviation noise policy does not reflect the evidence on health. We call on Government to update its overall aircraft noise policy to include specific long-term targets focussed on protecting the public from health impacts. The Government should review its policies to take account of the latest health based evidence and ensure that policy decision making takes health fully into account and is in line with a long-term goal to reduce the health burden from aircraft noise. Any new flightpath decisions must explicitly take health impacts into account and the Government should develop a new approach to understanding the ‘change effect’ of significant changes in noise exposure associated with new flightpaths. The decision to build a new runway should be assessed on whether it helps to deliver health-based aircraft noise objectives. A new runway, as currently planned, is estimated to have noise related health costs of £3.7 billion (see section 2.2.4). It is essential that the next night flights regime aims to reduce the severe health burden associated with sleep disturbance.