U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Federal Aviation 

Administration

Advisory 

Circular

Subject: 

GUIDANCE ON THE BALANCED 

APPROACH TO NOISE MANAGEMENT

Date: September 28, 2004 

Initiated by: AEE-100 

AC No: 150/5020-2 

Change: 

1. PURPOSE: By this Advisory Circular, FAA accepts the International Civil Aviation 

Organization (ICAO) document, Guidance on the Balanced Approach to Aircraft Noise 

Management, as additional guidance material. The balanced approach document can be 

used as additional information to consider when applying Federal Aviation Regulations 

(FAR) parts 150 and 161 at U.S. international airports. The balanced approach applies to 

any airport served by international air traffic that has a perceived noise problem. 

The ICAO document provides Member States with useful information to set up a balanced 

approach to noise management at international airports. The guidance describes the

principal elements of the balanced approach, some of the measures available, and the link 

between the elements and the measures. It also provides analytical and methodological 

tools useful to assess and compare the measures’ costs and benefits. The guidance is 

wide-ranging to help all ICAO Member States in carrying out the balanced approach. 

2. APPLICABILITY: Some procedures and measures identified in this document may 

already be in place at many U.S. international airports. For example, many airports have 

completed FAR Part 150 airport noise compatibility plans that address the same elements 

as the balanced approach. Also, some suggested procedures may not directly apply to our 

U.S. regulations and policies. For example, some of the operating restrictions may be 

inherently inconsistent with requirements of the U.S. Constitution and obligations arising 

from Federal agreements. Moreover, the adoption of operating restrictions may be subject 

to the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA). 

In preparing the balanced approach document, ICAO recognized that Member States have 

laws, existing arrangements, and policies that may govern managing noise problems at 

their airports. Therefore, any existing U.S. laws, regulations, policies, and obligations

incurred under Federal agreements for surplus property and airport development grants 

supersede the Guidance on the Balanced Approach to Aircraft Noise Management. 

3. BACKGROUND: At ICAO’s 33rd Assembly in October 2001, all participating Member 

States adopted Resolution A33-7. This Resolution expressed the unanimous consensus of 

the worldwide aviation community on both aircraft noise and gaseous emissions. In 

addition, the ICAO Assembly adopted a new approach for managing aircraft noise at 

international airports, the Balanced Approach. 
AC 150/5020-2 09/28/04 

The balanced approach stresses the need for considering various measures available 

according to the noise assessment at each airport while preserving potential benefits gained 

from aircraft-related measures. The four principal elements of the balanced approach are: 

reduction of noise at the source, land-use planning and management, noise abatement 

operational procedures, and operating restrictions on aircraft. 

The balanced approach provides an internationally agreed method to address aircraft noise 

problems in an environmentally and economically responsible way. It gives Member States 

a flexible way to identify a specific noise problem. It calls for an airport-by-airport approach 

and recognizes that airports can apply similar solutions if they have similar noise problems. 

At the ICAO Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection meeting In February 2004, 

the committee adopted the Guidance on the Balanced Approach to Aircraft Noise 

Management as the accepted guidance for developing a balanced approach at international 

airports. 

4. DOCUMENT AVAILABILITY: Guidance on the Balanced Approach to Aircraft Noise 

Management, ICAO Doc 9829 AN/451, is available for sale at ICAO, Document Sales Unit, 

(514) 954-8022, sales@icao.int., or through their online ordering service at www.icao.int. 

Carl E. Burleson 

Director of Environment and Energy