Potential Changes to Airport Noise Policy

Community noise issues remain the major impediment to airport capacity enhancements in the United States. This chapter focuses attention on policy issues of the greatest salience in contemporary airport/aircraft noise controversies. Various stakeholders have differing opinions about these matters, which policymakers have the duty to balance. Additional issues (including sustainability, climate change/flight shaming, and air quality) also affect the ability of airports to expand, and also play roles as non-acoustic variables affecting noise-induced annoyance.