Assessment of noise impacts at airports

Airport operation is a major source of community concerns due to aircraft noise emissions particularly in locations close to airports and aircraft flight tracks. The effects of aircraft noise on humans can cause hearing damage for people working at airports and speech and sleep interference which can develop into stress for nearby communities. As such, it becomes essential when locating and designing to expand airports to optimize flight paths in a way to reduce noise exposure to nearby communities. For this purpose, it is required to assess changes in noise levels resulting from new runway configurations, evaluate increased aircraft operation demand, new fleet mix, revised routings and airspace structures, alternative flight profiles, and modifications to other operational procedures. This paper presents a noise impact assessment for the proposed expansion at the Beirut International Airport, Lebanon. Field noise measurements were collected at sensitive noise receptors along selected locations around the airport and the corresponding airport traffic flow was characterized. A mathematical model was then applied to simulate noise levels as a function of the different airplane classes, operations, flight path, and landing characteristics. The model was also used to predict future noise levels, optimize airplane flight path, and assess mitigation measures to minimize potential aircraft noise impacts.