26. 4. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 111/5 
Proposal for a Council Directive on the limitation of the operation of Chapter 2 aeroplanes 
(91/C 111/05) 
COM(90) 445 final 
(Submitted by the Commission on 16 April 1991) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 84 (2) 
thereof, Whereas, owing to the problem of growing congestion at 
Community airports it is essential to ensure that the 
maximum use is made of existing facilities and whereas 
this will only be possible if environmentally acceptable 
aeroplanes are used; 
Having regard to the proposal of the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, Whereas the work undertaken by the Community in 
cooperation with other international bodies indicated 
that measures to limit the operation of aeroplanes which 
do not comply with the standards of Chapter 3 of Annex 
16 must follow any non-addition rule in order to be of 
environmental benefit; 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the application of noise emission standards to 
civil subsonic jet aeroplanes has significant consequences 
for the provision of air transport services in particular 
where such standards limit the useful life of aeroplanes 
operated by airlines; whereas Council Directive 
80/51/EEC ('), as amended by Directive 83/206/ 
EEC (2), fixes limits on emission of such noise; 
Whereas Council Directive 89/629/EEC (3) limits the 
addition of aeroplanes that only comply with the 
standards specified in Part II, Chapter 2, Volume 1 of 
Annex 16 to the Convention on International Civil 
Aviation, 2nd edition (1988), to the civil air registers of 
Member States; whereas this same Directive specifies 
that the limitation on addition is only a first stage; 
Whereas the programme of action of the European 
Communities on the environment (4) shows clearly the 
importance of the problem of noise and, in particular, 
the need to take action against noise due to air traffic; Whereas common rules for this purpose should be 
introduced on a reasonable time-scale to ensure a 
harmonized approach throughout the Community, 
supplementing existing rules; whereas this is particularly 
important in view of the recent impetus given to liberali­
zation of European air traffic; 
Whereas aeroplane noise should be further reduced, 
taking into account environmental factors, technical 
feasibility and economic consequences; 
Whereas it is appropriate to restrict the operation of civil 
subsonic jet aeroplanes on Member States' registers to 
those which comply with the standards of Chapter 3 of 
Annex 16; whereas a gradual timetable for the with­
drawal of those aeroplanes which do not meet Chapter 3 
standards would represent a facility both for airlines and 
for manufacturers; 
Whereas special consideration should be given to the 
problems of developing nations; 
(') OJ No L 18, 24. 1. 1980, p. 26. 
C) OJ No L 117, 4. 5. 1983, p. 15. 
(3) OJ No L 363, 13. 12. 1989, p. 27. 
(*) OJ No C 328, 7. 12. 1987, p. 1. Whereas in cases of technical or economic difficulty, it 
would be reasonable to grant limited exemptions, 
NoC 111/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 26. 4. 91 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
1. The objective of this Directive is to lay down rules 
to restrict the operation of certain civil subsonic jet aero­
planes. 
2. This Directive shall not apply to aeroplanes with a 
maximum take-off mass of 34 000 kilograms or less and 
a capacity of 19 or less seats. 
Article 2 
1. Member States shall ensure that as from 1 April 
1995, civil subsonic jet aeroplanes fitted with low by-pass 
ratio (') engines do not operate at airports situated in 
their territory unless granted noise certification either: 
(a) to the standards specified in Part II, Chapter 3, 
Volume 1 of Annex 16 to the Convention on Inter­
national Civil Aviation, 2nd edition, (1988); or 
(b) to the standards specified in Part II, Chapter 2, 
Volume 1 of Annex 16 of the aforesaid Convention 
in the case of aeroplanes having their individual 
certificate of airworthiness first issued not more than 
25 years before the date of operation. 
2. Member States shall ensure that as from 1 April 
2002, all civil subsonic jet aeroplanes operating from 
airports situated in their territory comply with the 
provisions of paragraph 1 (a). 
Article 3 
Airlines of the developing nations listed in the Annex to 
this Directive shall be exempt from the provisions of 
Article 2 (1) (a) and (b) in so far as: 
(a) they operated subsonic jet aeroplanes, granted noise 
certification to the standards specified in Part II, 
Chapter 2, Volume 1 of Annex 16 to the Convention 
on International Civil Aviation, 2nd edition, (1988), 
into Community airports in the 12 months ending 31 
December 1990; 
(b) only those Chapter 2 aeroplanes in their fleet at that 
time, are exempted; 
(c) the total number of annual movements by Chapter 2 
aeroplanes permitted into a particular Community 
airport shall not exceed the number achieved by that 
airline's Chapter 2 aeroplanes in the 12 months 
ending 31 December 1990. 
(') i. e. with a by-pass ratio of less than 2. Article 4 
1. Member States may grant exemptions, on an 
annual basis and for not more than three years in total, 
to the 25 year term specified in Article 2 (1) (b) for aero­
planes in respect of which an airline demonstrates that 
the pursuit of its operations would otherwise be 
adversely affected to an unreasonable extent. 
2. Where an airline furnishes proof to the competent 
national authority of the economic or technical impossi­
bility of serving the airports in the territory of that 
authority with aeroplanes which comply with Article 2 
(1), Member States may exempt the airline from the 
provisions specified in that paragraph until 1 April 1997. 
Member States may specify airports to be served by 
airlines granted such an exemption. 
Article 5 
1. Member States shall exempt from Article 2 (1) 
aeroplanes which do not meet the standards of Chapter 
3 on Annex 16 but which can be equipped to meet that 
standard provided that: 
(a) suitable conversion equipment exists for the 
aeroplane type in question; 
(b) aeroplanes fitted with such equipment are capable of 
meeting the standards of Chapter 3 of Annex 16; 
(c) such equipment is actually available; 
(d) the airline has ordered the equipment by 1 April 
1994; 
(e) the appropriate equipment is fitted before 1 April 
1997. 
2. Member States may grant exemptions from Article 
2 for aeroplanes of historic interest. 
Article 6 
Member States may grant, on a 'one for one' basis, 
exemptions from the provisions of Article 2(1) for aero­
planes where an order has been placed before 1 April 
1994 for a replacement aeroplane that meets the 
standards of Chapter 3 of Annex 16, and where the 
manufacturer is unable to deliver that replacement before 
1 April 1995. 
Article 7 
Subject to the approval of the competent authority of a 
Member State, airlines may not be required under Article 
2 (1) to dispose of aeroplanes which do not meet the 
26. 4. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities NoC 111/7 
standards of Chapter 3 of Annex 16 at an annual rate 
equivalent to more than 10 % of their total civil subsonic 
jet fleet. 2. Member States shall recognize the exemptions 
granted by other Member States in respect of aeroplanes 
on the registers of those Member States. 
Article 8 
In individual cases, Member States may permit the 
temporary use at airports situated in their territory of 
aeroplanes which cannot be put into service on the basis 
of the other provisions of this Directive. This exemption 
is limited to: 
(a) aeroplanes whose operations are of such an excep­
tional nature that it would be unreasonable to 
withhold a temporary exemption; 
(b) aeroplanes on non-revenue flights for the purposes 
of repair or maintenance. 
Article 9 
1. A Member State granting exemptions under 
Articles 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 shall inform the competent auth­
orities of the Member States and the Commission of the 
fact and of the criteria for their decision. Article 10 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to 
comply with this Directive before 31 December 1991. 
2. When Member States adopt these provisions, these 
shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be 
accompanied by such reference at the time of their 
official publication. The procedure for such reference 
shall be adopted by Member States. 
3. Member States shall communicate to the 
Commission the text of the provisions which they adopt 
in the field covered by this Directive. 
Article 11 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
ANNEX 
LIST OF EXEMPTED NATIONS 
1. UGANDA 
2. SUDAN.