Swiss environmental legislation requires that noise curves be drawn up for aerodromes emitting a certain level of noise pollution. The resulting maps are used to help keep noise pollution from aviation to a minimum.
Measures to reduce noise from aviation are drawn up on the basis of noise pollution registers (noise maps). Under Swiss environmental legislation – the Environmental Protection Act and the Noise Abatement Ordinance – the aviation authority must record noise emissions (noise curves) from aviation facilities in a register. This is the task of the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA).
The noise pollution registers are merely an inventory of noise levels and have no direct legal implications for the landowners affected. Airport operators use this instrument to draw up action plans against excessive noise pollution, for example when refurbishment work is undertaken. Cantonal and communal authorities use the registers for spatial planning purposes, for example when approving planning permission.
Select an aerodrome and click on the noise curve. The complete noise pollution register can be found under the object information in the detailed description.
Noise pollution is mapped with curves showing the daily average on days with the highest noise pollution. The noise curves are not actual measurements but calculations based on current or predicted aircraft movements and the known noise emissions from the various aircraft types. The register not only contains information on the impact on local residents, but also spatial planning information (zone maps). The noise sensitivity levels of each individual zone (e.g. residential zones or recreational zones) are also shown.
Further information can be found in Chapter 5 of the FOCA course on aircraft noise abatement (Determining noise exposure).
Further information
