Stijging vliegverkeer levert voor klimaat en voor omwonenden steeds groter probleem. Ban op of beperking van nachtvluchten, kerosinetaks en betere regulering lichte vliegtuigvluchten blijven hoog op Europese agenda.

Press release UECNA
november 2006.

UECNA (Union Européenne Contre les Nuisances Aériennes ­ European Union Against Aircraft Nuisances) held its general assembly this Saturday November 4th in Brussels. The 19 participants were representing associations of citizens living around airports from all over Europe : Belgium (Brussels), France (Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle), Germany (Frankfurt), Great-Britain (Heathrow), Greece (Artemis/Athens), GD Luxemburg (Findel), Netherlands (Schiphol), Switzerland (Basel-Mulhausen)Š

This meeting gave the participants the opportunity to exchange information, experience and expertise on steps taken and actions implemented at the local and national level.  A large number of associations organized awareness and visibility actions on June 9th and 10th in airports on the Action Day on Aviation.

All participants stated that the boom of air transport and the expansion of airports ­ whether large, medium or small, regional or national, freight or passenger, regular, charter or low-cost flights­ generate everywhere increasing nuisances which sooner or later become totally unbearable.  In spite of the gradual renewal of the fleets, the rise in the frequency of aircraft movements leads to a continuous widening of the noise contours and cancels the benefit of technological improvements.

The forecasts for air traffic growth in the next 10 years in a « business as usual » environment and in the absence of any political decision to curb this trend, are appalling : 700.000 movements in Frankfurt and Heathrow, 800.000 in Schiphol, i.e. almost twice the present figures.

Il appears however that the awareness-raising of the public opinion by the media about the climate change problem has led many a citizen to cast a more critical look on aviation.

Actions and steps targeted at the European Commission and the Members of the European Parliament on the issue of the restriction or ban on night flights will be taken next spring in the context of the revision of the European « noise » directive 2002/49.  Specified noise standards and a realistic methodology for measuring and calculating the noise contours will be called for.

More and more European States now support the idea of taxing the aviation fuel, which has been untaxed for 60 years, in order to put an end to this hidden form of subsidy and unfair competition with other modes of transport.

Also on the agenda were the nuisances generated by the booming light aircraft aviation.  These nuisances have given rise to a petition towards a better regulation presented to the European Parliament in May.

Two German participants made a presentation on and a demonstration of a high-tech software designed for collecting and processing data from sound level meters which allows, at a reasonable cost, to « visualize » the noise pollution from aircrafts in a striking manner.  Demonstrations are planned in the near future for citizens¹ associations in London, Paris and Brussels.


-        Association de défense contre les nuisances sonores de l'aviation légère de Sandweiler, GD Luxemburg
-        Bruxelles Air Libre Brussel, Belgium
-        Bundesvereinigung gegen Fluglärm (Frankfurt), Germany
-        Deutsche Fluglärmdienst eV (DFLD), Germany
-        Environmental Harmony (Artemis/Athens), Greece
-        Forum Flughafen Basel-Mulhausen, Switzerland
-        HACAN (Heathrow), Great-Britain
-        Schutzverband Flughafen Basel-Mulhausen, Switzerland
-        SIILFC (Findel), GD Luxemburg
-        Union Française Contre les Nuisances des Aéronefs (UFCNA), France
-        Werkgroep Vliegverkeer Bijlmermeer (Amsterdam), Netherlands


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