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Following is a question by the Hon Albert Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (June 11):
Question:
In reply to my question at the meeting of this Council on May 29, 2013, the Government indicated that to minimise the impact of aircraft noise on the districts near the flight paths, the Civil Aviation Department had implemented a series of aircraft noise mitigating measures, which included implementing a new set of flight procedures to reduce the noise impact of aircraft on the areas over which they flew when departing to the northeast of the airport, in accordance with the balanced approach to aircraft noise management promulgated by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Yet, I have learnt that aircraft noise during the hours between 11pm to 7am the next day still often causes nuisance to the residents of quite a number of housing estates, making it difficult for them to fall asleep. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the monthly data recorded between January 2013 and May 2014 by various aircraft noise monitoring terminals on aircraft noise levels which reached 70 to 74, 75 to 79, and 80 decibels (dB) or above during the aforesaid hours;
(b) of the types of aircraft with noise levels reaching 80 dB or above last year, and the names of the airline companies to which such aircraft belonged; and
(c) whether it will further enhance the existing aircraft noise mitigating measures to reduce the nuisance caused to residents in the districts concerned; if it will, of the details?
Reply:
President,
Our reply to the various parts of the Hon Albert Chan's question is as follows:
(a) The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has 16 noise monitoring terminals. The aircraft noise events recorded by these terminals in 2013 and 2014 (up to April) by month are set out in Annex 1. The data for May 2014 are pending verification and thus not available at the moment.
(b) The types of aircraft with noise events of 80 decibels or above in 2013 and the operating airlines concerned are set out in Annex 2.
(c) The CAD has implemented a series of aircraft noise mitigating measures in accordance with the balanced approach to aircraft noise management promulgated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). These measures include requiring aircraft to avoid overflying populated areas, to adopt the noise abatement departure procedures prescribed by the ICAO during take-off and the Continuous Descent Approach for landing, etc, in the small hours as far as possible. Since February 2012, the CAD has implemented a new set of flight procedures that aim to allow aircraft which could use satellite-based navigation technology in their flights to adhere closely to the nominal centre line of the flight track when departing to the northeast of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and making south turn to the West Lamma Channel, thereby keeping the aircraft at a distance away from the areas in the vicinity of the flight paths, and reducing the impact of aircraft noise on these areas.
At present, only aircraft complying with the noise standards in Chapter 3 of Volume I, Part II of Annex 16 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chapter 3 noise standards) are allowed to land and take off in Hong Kong. This requirement is comparable to other major international airports. To strengthen the above-mentioned aircraft noise mitigating measure, starting from late March 2014, the CAD no longer allows aircraft which are marginally compliant with the Chapter 3 noise standards to land and take off in Hong Kong between 11pm and 7am the following day. The CAD is making plans to extend this measure to the time interval between 7am to 11pm, with effect from late October 2014.
Meanwhile, the Airport Authority Hong Kong is exploring the feasibility of introducing aircraft noise charges on the basis of the 24-hour operation of the HKIA, and with reference to the guidelines relating to aircraft noise charges issued by the ICAO. The aviation industry and the stakeholders will be consulted accordingly.
With the advancement of aviation technology, aircraft engines are quieter than before, and the improvement in the design of airframe has also helped reduce noise significantly. The CAD has been requesting airlines to introduce newer models of aircraft to replace the older ones, and to deploy quieter aircraft for night time operations. Airlines have taken actions accordingly, and progress has been made. The ratios of newer-model aircraft in airlines' fleets are on the rise. The CAD will continue to monitor the progress made by the airlines in their aircraft fleet replacement and their deployment of quieter aircraft for night time operations, as well as the effectiveness of the measures.
Ends/Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Issued at HKT 14:31
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