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Research: Aviation Noise Impact Management
Finding new ways to reduce the impact of aircraft noise on the communities living around airports.
Summary
Research summary
- October 2017 to December 2021
The Aviation Noise Impact Management through Novel Approaches (ANIMA) project is helping to reduce the impact of aircraft noise on communities living near airports.
Traditional engineering approaches have significantly reduced the noise made by individual aircraft taking off and landing - but without residents reporting significantly better experiences, due to airport growth.
Instead, ANIMA focuses on improving the experiences of local residents by focusing on noise through a management lens.
Researchers have:
- Investigated the health implications of noise exposure, including annoyance and sleep deprivation
- Made recommendations on how airports can better communicate and engage with residents to understand their needs
- Provided guidance for industry on how to manage noise at an operational level, for example in designing airspace
- Developed an understanding of how airports can effectively contribute to residents’ quality of life
An online platform has been built to help capture community sentiment and experiences. It also provides noise management tools for airports and authorities, which create noise maps and simulates the impact of changes in flight patterns and aircraft types.
The platform also gives access to the Aviation Noise Research Roadmap, which supports policymakers in defining future policy and research goals.
Researchers at Manchester Met led the review of management approaches to noise and implications for policy.
They worked with airports such as Heathrow and Schiphol, Amsterdam to support the development of best practice across Europe – particularly for nations with emerging noise management responsibilities. The team also assessed the implications of airspace modernisation policy in the UK.
What is the ANIMA project?
Watch the research team explain their work in a series of short videos.Research output
Academic papers
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Heyes, GA, Hooper, PD, Rajé, F and Sheppard, J (2021) The case for a design-led, end-user focused airport noise management process, Transport Research Part D, 95 (102847)
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Heyes, GA, Hooper, PD, Raje, F, Sainz-Pardo, AG, Burtea, N, Radulescu, D, Ohlenforst, B, Galatioto, F, Flindell, I and Dimitriu, D (2021) Exemplar case studies of aviation noise mitigation strategies in the European Union: a review of the communication and engagement state of the art, Sustainability (Sustainability Issues in Aviation Special Issue), 13, 6088
Reports
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Pan-European overview of existing knowledge and implementation of noise reduction strategies
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Recommendations on annoyance mitigation and implications for communication and engagement
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Critical review of balanced approach implementation across EU member states
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Recommendations for the implementation of the exemplification case studies
Team
Research team
Lead researchers
Co-researchers
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Dr Fiona Raje
Project research partners
Industry
- Airbus
- Airport Regions Council
- ANOTEC Engineering
- Catapult Transport Systems
- ENVIRONNONS
- Erdyn
- Heathrow Airport
- Iasi Airport
- Netherlands Aerospace Centre
- ONERA
- Royal Schiphol Group
- SAFRAN
- Zeus
Academic institutions
Funding
With funding from
![The Flag of Europe](/sites/default/files/styles/logo_scalable/public/2021-06/Flag_of_Europe.png?itok=tqemxwTg)
European Union
Contact
Contact us
For general enquiries, please contact Sustainable Environments research group leads Dr Ling Lim or Chris Paling.