Aviation has brought significant benefits to world trade and development, and the UK has the second largest aerospace and aviation economy in the world, contributing £25 billion to the GDP. This success, however, is not without an environmental cost from impacts on climate change, local air quality degradation and noise-impacted communities.

With global air transport predicted to grow four-fold in the next 30 years, policymakers, regulators and technologists face considerable challenges in securing the environmental sustainability of the industry.

The UK has a wealth of experience in managing the environmental impacts of aviation and the DTI funded Omega partnership brings together leading academics from nine UK universities, aeronautical engineers, air transport managers and industry consultants. The partnership has been established to study the environmental, business and operational impacts of aviation and develop strategies to reduce environmental impacts and business risk. The majority of the research addresses climate change and emission, however the aviation expertise of RPS has been sought out to assist in the UK's only related aircraft noise project.

RPS is involved in a phase 1 joint collaboration research project with Manchester Metropolitan University, Southampton University and three UK airports. The project "Understanding & managing community responses to aircraft noise exposure" will (hopefully) lead to a better understanding of noise management and mitigation techniques and will also provide a valuable insight into managing the expectations of the local community by providing more transparent and understandable indicators of noise exposure. This last stage being a dramatic departure against the standard practice of providing contours based on a daily average noise level.

RPS will be providing technical assistance to the academics by providing aircraft noise modelling expertise and will actively participate in the focus groups that will comprise of members of the public, aviation industry, professional bodies and community actions groups.

The information gained from this phase 1 project will be disseminated within Europe with the intention that a more comprehensive phase 2 element will be awarded which will involve upwards of 1,100 respondents.

For more information please contact:
RPS Brighton - Planning & Development
T: 01273 546800