ICAO Breaks Political Logjam To Establish Noise Framework

World Airline News, Oct 12, 2001

Attention Now Focused On U.S.-European Hushkit Negotiations

MONTREAL - After two weeks of intense negotiations, an international agreement has been hammered out establishing limits for future aircraft noise restrictions. Some observers say this agreement could facilitate a swift resolution to the long-running conflict between the United States and the European Union (EU) over the use of hushkitted aircraft.

Although the general principles of the agreement had already been drafted, the major achievement of the Sept. 25-Oct. 5 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assembly session was to massage the finer details into a document to which all nations could agree. And agree they did - the most controversial resolution of the entire assembly session was eventually approved unanimously.

The resolution urges states and airports to impose a "balanced approach" to noise. It allows airports to impose restrictions on aircraft that meet by a small margin the current Chapter 3 noise standard - referred to in the United States as Stage 3. However, to do so the airports must first prove that they have pursued land-use management and noise abatement programs to limit noise exposure, and show that operating restrictions are justified on a cost-benefit basis.

Experts say that the resolution is a key landmark in the noise debate, and it will provide a framework for EU legislation that will replace the European ban on hushkitted aircraft. U.S. airline representatives, however, warn that much work remains before a U.S.-EU compromise can be reached.

An ICAO source said that consensus on the resolution was reached on the final evening of the ICAO assembly, with the assembly to vote on all resolutions the next day.

In an effort to resolve the impasse on noise restrictions, ICAO President Assad Kotaite had formed a select subgroup to work exclusively on the issue. This group, including two representatives from every region, debated late into many nights to try and form a consensus position.

Different drafts of the most contentious clauses of the agreement were presented, and the representatives worked with ICAO staff to reduce the areas of disagreement from clauses, to sentences, and eventually to single words. With the direct intervention of Kotaite, a final draft resolution was agreed upon, and approved by the assembly.

The ICAO source said the resolution is "flexible enough to be acceptable [to all parties], and precise enough to solve the Article 84 [hushkit] dispute." Because the ICAO noise resolution is very general in key areas, nations must still implement more detailed provisions, while observing the principles developed by ICAO.

The fact that the United States and EU could agree on the general principles in the ICAO resolution is an excellent omen for the continuing hushkit negotiations, said the source. Both sides were worried that the ICAO negotiations might magnify the differences in their positions, but in fact the reverse occurred.

The U.S.-EU dispute must be solved by the time the European hushkit ban comes into force next April. Kotaite had expressed hope that a solution could be negotiated this year. A meeting between the two factions had been tentatively scheduled for later this month.

While the Montreal negotiations focused on the ICAO resolution, representatives of EU nations also discussed with their U.S. counterparts draft noise legislation they had developed. The ICAO source said that these discussions were crucial in gaining consensus on the ICAO resolution, as it enabled officials to identify common principles.

The current EU legislative proposal imposes specific noise thresholds to define the Chapter 3 aircraft that can be restricted. This threshold would be 5 decibels (dB) above the Chapter 3 limits, and may be extended to 8dB in the future. A solution to the hushkit dispute likely would include a modified version of this draft legislation.

However, U.S. airline industry officials told World Airline News an agreement regarding the European legislative solution is still a long way off. "There were some discussions, but they did not settle the dispute," said Nancy Young, U.S. Air Transport Association (ATA) assistant general counsel for international environmental programs. The United States "was not supportive of what the Europeans floated as their solution [to the hushkit dispute]," she said.

Although the European and U.S. positions must move closer together in order for consensus to be reached, Young said that the ICAO resolution was a major achievement that should facilitate an eventual EU-U.S. agreement. "An international framework was decided, and this is very positive," said Young. "ICAO took a giant step forward."

ATA believes setting a threshold that European airports can work to is inconsistent with the ICAO agreement, and is too much of a blanket approach. Young points out that few airports will regard a 5dB threshold as an upper limit, and it will instead be a specific target.

In June, the ICAO Council adopted a new Chapter 4 noise standard for aircraft certified after 2006, requiring that these aircraft be 10dB quieter than allowed under Chapter 3. However, European nations and the airport industry have been pushing to give airports the ability to limit existing Chapter 3 aircraft also. The United States and the airline industry have argued against restricting Chapter 3 aircraft.