Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The growth perspective
The growth of the air transport industry increases the use of the existing airline fleet,
while also driving more rapid fleet replacement. The phase-out of noisy but air-
worthy aircraft can create a shortage of aircraft to serve the market.
The case of economies in transition in Central and Eastern Europe with plans
to accede to the European Union (EU), illustrates the significant conflicting demands
resulting from the need to grow their air route networks, while modernizing their
airline fleets. On the one hand, they have had to rapidly phase out the use of noisy
Russian aircraft, which used to operate primarily within Central and Eastern Europe,
and replace them with modern, quiet aircraft in order to gain access to EU airports. On
the other hand, they are unable to develop those routes because they have a signifi-
cantly reduced airline fleet. In consequence, Central and Eastern European countries
are at risk of losing or failing to gain significant market share to EU airlines, which
will have the advantage of developing the wider European air route network.
It is self-evident that as aviation is a global industry, it should have common glo-
bal regulations. However, it is exactly this that makes the processes of ICAO so very
slow. Extensive time is required for consultation and agreement by governments,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the industry. The need for action to
reduce noise emissions and exposure, and the ability to modernize the airline fleet
varies across the world. Aviation demand is greatest in more developed regions such
as Europe: those same areas where opposition to aircraft noise is highest and where
the air transport industry is best able to undertake fleet modernization. In contrast,
there are many hundreds of airports and, indeed, entire countries where there is cur-
rently no imperative to seek improvements in aircraft noise. However, even amongst
developing nation airlines there is still a need for ongoing fleet replacement in the
short term in order to gain access to developed nation airports, and in the long term
to minimize the risk of community opposition at their own airports.
The challenge for ICAO in resolving the above tensions is obviously enormous.
These tensions lead to significant delays in the time taken to agree and implement
new certification standards and any phase-out requirements. Given the ongoing and
strong growth of the industry and improvements in aircraft technology, such delays
negate the value of the regulatory improvements. Furthermore, the need to develop
regulation that meets such different national interests can lead to the adoption of the
'lowest common denominator'. Given the rapid growth of aviation, there is a need to
develop this regulatory system so that it promotes continual improvement and the
adoption of 'best practice', in keeping with the principles underlying sustainable
development.
The response of the EU to the decisions made by the ICAO in September 2001
provides one illustration of how global regulation has been interpreted in a particu-
larly affluent part of the world.
T
HE
E
UROPEAN
SITUATION
Sensitivity to aircraft noise is particularly acute within Europe because of high pop-
ulation density, the size of the aviation industry and the fact that Europe comprises a
