Amended Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a Community framework for noise classification of civil subsonic aircraft for the purposes of calculating noise charges
Date: 2002-11-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: air transport, aircraft, charges for use of infrastructure, environmental tax, metrology, noise, quality of the environment

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 29.11.2002
COM(2002) 683 final

2001/0308 (COD)

Amended Proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the establishment of a Community framework for noise classification of civil subsonic
aircraft for the purposes of calculating noise charges

(presented by the Commission pursuant
to Article 250(2) of the EC-Treaty)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. 

PROCEDURE

The  Proposal  COM(2001)  74  final  of  20  December  2001  was  submitted  to  the
Council and the European Parliament on 20 December 2001 in accordance with the
procedure laid down in article 251 of the Treaty.
The Economic and Social Committee gave its opinion on 29 May 20021.

The  European  Parliament  gave  its  opinion  in  first  reading  during  the  session  of  3
September 2002 and adopted 12 amendments.2

In  the  light  of  the  development  in  the  European  Parliament  the  Commission  has
drafted this amended proposal.

2. 

PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSAL

In  the  1999  Communication  on  Air  Transport  and  Environment  it  was  proposed  to
use  economic  incentives  to  encourage  operators  to  use  technology  that  allows  to
improve the environmental impact of air transport.

In that light the objective of this Proposal is to provide a common methodology for
the  modulation  of  airport  charges,  taking  into  account  the  level  of  noise  nuisance
caused by specific aircraft.

The  technical  elements  of  the  Proposal  reflect  the  European  Civil  Aviation
  By  establishing  a
Conference  (ECAC)  recommendation  on  noise  charges. 
Community  wide  system  based  on  transparency,  fairness  of  treatment  and
predictability,  a  proliferation  of  charging  systems  based  on  different  technical
parameters  throughout  the  territory  of  the  Community  can  be  avoided,  thus
supporting internal market goals.

The main underlying principles of the proposed methodology are:

–  transparency  and  cost-relatedness  in  accordance  with  established  ICAO  policy,
which implies the application of the principle of revenue neutrality, unless charges
are  levied  with  the  specific  purpose  of  financial  environmental  mitigation
measures at and around airports

–  use  of  objective  criteria  which  are  readily  available  and  easily  verifiable  (noise

performance of the aeroplane as mentioned in its noise certificate)

–  proportionality between noise charges and noise impact

–  flexibility  by  taking  into  account  a  number  of  airport  specific  elements  with  a

view to allow a smooth introduction of the harmonised methodology.

1
2 

OJ C 221, 17.9.2002, p.17
…

2

                                                
The  Proposal  responds  to  the  obligation  of  the  Community  to  promote  sustainable
development of economic activities as well as an improvement of the quality of the
environment  by  integrating  environmental  protection  requirements  into  common
sectoral policies.

3. 

COMMENTS

On  3  September  2002  the  European  Parliament  adopted  in  first  reading  12
amendments.  The Commission examined all those amendments in the light of their
possible effect on:

-

-

-

the objectives and principles of the Proposal as set out under point 2 above ;

the technical integrity of the proposed methodology ;

new  European  legislation  adopted  since  the  submission  of  the  Proposal  to
Parliament and Council.

Out of the 12 amendments five are accepted by the Commission (amendments 1, 5,
7, 12 and 14).

The remaining amendments cannot be accepted (amendments 4, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 and
17).

3.1

Amendments  adopted  by  the  European  Parliament  which  are  accepted  by  the
Commission

(cid:1)  The Commission accepts amendment 1, which changes the title of the Proposal.
By  deleting  the  reference  to  “noise  classification”  the  title  of  the  Proposal
reflects  more  accurately  the  proposed  methodology  which  is  based  on  a
continuous formula and not on a discrete classification of aeroplanes.

(cid:1)  The Commission accepts amendment 5, which besides a few linguistic changes
modifying Article 3.1, refers to the possibility to use different unit noise charges
for different times of the day.  Although this was already implicitly included in
the  methodology,  which  is  described  in  Annex  1  to  the  original  Proposal,  this
addition to Article 3 improves the clarity of the text.

(cid:1)  The  Commission  accepts  amendment  7,  which  postpones  in  Article  4,  the
proposed date of 1 April 2003 by one year to 1 April 2004 in Article 4.  In the
light of the time that has already elapsed since the adoption of the  proposal  by
the Commission, and also with a view to the workprogramme of the Council for
the near future, this amendment introduces a more reasonable timing for the first
implementation phase of the Directive.

(cid:1)  The  Commission  accepts  amendment  12,  modifying  recital  6,  which  merely
confirms that the Proposal is fully compatible with relevant ICAO guidelines.

(cid:1)  The  Commission  accepts  amendment  14,  modifying  Article  3.3,  which  puts  in
place two new elements: in the first place, its limits the number of time periods
in  a  24  hour  frame  to  a  maximum  of  three  and  secondly,  it  increases  the
maximum  variation  between  the  highest  and  the  lowest  charge  within  a  given
time period to a ratio of 1 to 40.  Limiting the number of time periods to three,

3

compensates  for  the  possible  effect  of  doubling  the  ratio  to  1-40.    The
the  environmental  noise
amendment  establishes  also  compatibility  with 
Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June
2002 relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise, which
uses also three time periods (day, evening, night).

3.2

Amendments  adopted  by  the  European  Parliament  which  are  rejected  by  the
Commission

(cid:1)  Amendment 4, modifying Article 2 paragraph 1, point (b) is rejected because it
would add no new elements to the Proposal and it might, on the contrary, reduce
the clarity of the proposed draft.  It would not make sufficiently explicit that the
so-called concept of modulation of charges must not only be implemented in the
case of a revenue neutral framework, but also in the case net revenue is raised for
financing environmental mitigation measures.

(cid:1)  Amendment  8,  modifying  Article  7,  paragraph  1,  cannot  be  supported  as  it
requests  the  Commission  to  prepare  a  report  on  the  feasibility  of  replacing  the
proposed system by a system based on noise measurement.  Whilst a methodology
based on noise measurement in situ cannot guarantee sufficient transparency, such
a study would be superfluous.

(cid:1)  Amendment  9,  amending  the  Annex,  paragraph  2,  introduces  a  minimum  noise
charge.  Because airports without noise problems do not need to take measures to
reduce or to limit noise, there is no good reason to make minimum noise charges
mandatory.

(cid:1)  Amendment  10,  amending  the  Annex,  Modulation  of  noise  charges,  is  rejected
because it would introduce an obligation to raise revenue from noise charges also
at  airports  with  very  low  noise  levels,  which  would  be  contrary  to  an  important
principle enshrined in the Proposal.

(cid:1)  Amendments  15,  16  and  17,  amending  Recital  9  Article  1  paragraph  2  and
Article  4  paragraphe  2,  cannot  be  accepted  because  they  go  against  the  main
objective of the proposal, which is to bring a minimum harmonisation.

4. 

CONCLUSION

In the light of the amendments adopted by the European Parliament the Commission
amends  its  proposal  as  set  out  above,  pursuant  to  Article  250(2)  of  the  EC  Treaty.
Further to the five amendments which are accepted, a small technical modification is
made in the Annex.

This modification is necessary as a consequence of amending Article 3 by doubling
the range between minimum and maximum charges at a particular  airport from 1 –
20 to 1 – 40.

Consequently  –  for  the  sake  of  consistency  –  it  is  necessary  to  adapt,  in  the
description  of  the  calculation  of  noise  charges  in  the  Annex,  the  lower  threshold
levels.    These  were  defined  as  being  13  dB  below  the  upper  threshold  and  are
adjusted to 16dB below the upper threshold.

4

2001/0308 (COD)

Proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the establishment of a Community framework for noise charges on  civil subsonic
aircraft

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular
Article 80 (2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission3,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee4,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions5,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty6,

Whereas:

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

3

4

5

6

7

8

It is part of Community policy, in conformity with Articles 2 and 6 of the Treaty, to
enhance  significantly  the  integration  of  environmental  protection  requirements  into
other sectoral policies, including transport policy.

One  of  the  main  objectives  of  the  common  transport  policy  is  to  promote  the
sustainable development of transport activities

The  Commission  Communication  on  Air  Transport  and  Environment7  proposes  the
use of economic instruments in order to improve the environmental performance of air
transport operations.

Directive on airport charges8 provides for the possibility to modulate airport charges as
a  function  of  the  environmental  impact  without  establishing  criteria  for  such
modulation.

A  modulation  of  noise  charges  for  environmental  purposes  based  on  a  common
classification  of  aircraft  according  to  their  noise  impact  will  enhance  environmental

OJ C 103, 30.04.2002, p 221
OJ C 221, 17.09.2002  p 17
OJ C , , p. .
OJ C , , p. .
COM(1999) 640final, 1.12.1999
Proposal for a Council Directive on airport charges COM(97/154 final, OJ C 257, 22.08.1997, p.2
as amended by COM(1998)509final, OJ C 319, 16.10.1998, p. 4

5

                                                
(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

effectiveness,  transparency  of  charging  systems  and  predictability  for  air  transport
operators.

Such modulation is not designed to generate additional revenue. It should respect the
principle of revenue neutrality and be applied in a transparent and non-discriminatory
manner.    However,  environmental  charges  that  are  levied  with  the  specific
purpose of financing environmental mitigation measures in the area surrounding
airport, such as sound insulation for example, are compatible with current ICAO
charging principles and should thus be allowed under this Directive.

The certificated noise levels as defined in Annex 16 - Volume I to the Convention on
International  Civil  Aviation,  third  edition,  July  1993  are  considered  to  reflect
adequately  the  noise  impact  for  the  population  living  in  the  vicinity  of  airports.  The
noise level at arrival can be adequately characterised by the certificated noise level at
the approach measurement point as defined in the said Annex 16, for the noise level at
departure there is a good correlation with the average of the certificated noise level at
the sideline and flyover measurement point as defined in the said Annex 16.

Noise  charges  should  be  proportional  to  the  incremental  nuisance  for  human  beings
caused  by  individual  aircraft  separately  at  arrival  and  departure.  The  relationship
between this incremental nuisance and the aircraft noise level can be most adequately
reflected by the noise energy level.

In  order  to  ensure  maximum  transparency  between  noise  charging  systems  at
Community airports, the common framework for noise classification of aircraft should
after  a  suitable  transition  period  be  applied  by  airports  which  operate  commercial
flights between Member States provided that they levy noise charges.

(10) 

It  is  useful  to  ensure  a  better  understanding  of  the  concept  of  noise  productivity,  in
particular for the heavier aircraft, by providing additional information about the noise
output per unit transported.

(11)  The Directive is in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality
as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, since the objective of enhancing the environmental
effectiveness  of  noise  charges  cannot  be  sufficiently  achieved  by  Member  States,
because  various  systems  of  noise  classification  are  used  for  charging  purposes.  The
objective can therefore, be better achieved by the Community by way of a harmonised
framework  for  the  calculation  of  noise  charges.  The  Directive  confines  itself  to  the
minimum required in order to achieve this objective and does not  go beyond what is
necessary for that purpose.

(12)  Since the measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive are measures of
general scope within the meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28
June  1999  laying  down  the  procedures  for  the  exercise  of  implementing  powers
conferred  on  the  Commission9,  they  should  be  adopted  by  use  of  the  regulatory
procedure provided for in Article 5 of that decision.

(13)  The  Commission  should  carry  out  by  1  April  2008  an  evaluation  of  the

implementation of this Directive.

9

OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23

6

                                                
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Objectives and Scope

The  aim  of  this  Directive  is  to  enhance  the  environmental  effectiveness  of  noise  charges
levied  at  airport  level  by  ensuring  that  common  criteria  based  on  the  noise  performance  of
aircraft are used when calculating the level of these charges for environmental purposes.

This  Directive  applies  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  set  out  in  Article  4  to  airports  or
airport  systems  which  operate  commercial  flights  between  Member  States  and  which  are
located in the territory of a Member State, provided that noise charges are applied.

Article 2

Definitions

1.

For the purpose of this Directive:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

“noise  charge”  means  a  specific  noise  levy  by  the  airport,  related  to  the
certificated  noise  characteristics  of  the  aircraft,  which  is  designed  to  recover
the  costs of alleviation  or  prevention  of  noise  problems  and  to  encourage  the
use of less noisy aircraft.

“modulation”  means  that  within  a  globally  revenue  neutral  framework  there
can be differentiation in the level of noise charges applied.

“La” means the noise level of an  aircraft at arrival. It is equal to the value of
the  certificated  noise  level  expressed  in  Effective  Perceived  Noise  (EPN)
decibels at the approach measurement point and calculated as defined in Annex
16 - Volume 1 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, third edition,
July 1993. The related noise energy is equal to the antilogarithm La/10.

“Ld”  means  the  noise  level  of  an  aircraft  at  departure.  It  is  equal  to  the
arithmetic  average  (mean)  of  the  certificated  noise  levels  expressed  in  EPN
decibels  at  the  lateral  and  flyover  measurement  points  as  defined  in  the  said
Annex 16. The related noise energy is equal to antilogarithm Ld/10.

(e)

‘noise  productivity  of  an  aircraft’  means  the  noise  emissions  per  unit  of
payload: passenger or tonne of cargo,

2.

In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6(2), Article 2 (c) and (d) of
this  Directive  may  be  adapted,  in  order  to  apply,  for  the  purpose  of  this  Directive,
subsequent amendments to Annex 16, Volume 1 to the Convention on International
Civil Aviation, which enter into force after the adoption of this Directive.

7

Article 3

Common framework for the calculation of noise charges

Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  the  calculation  of  noise
charges at airports in their territory is based on the following criteria:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The noise charge for arrivals and departures shall correspond  to the relative noise
impact of  arrivals and  departures  for populations around  airports. The noise  charge
for an arrival and a departure at a given airport shall be calculated as set out in the
Annex  to  this  Directive.    Different  unit  charges  for  different  times  of  the  day
shall be permitted.

The calculation of the noise energies at  arrival and departure shall  be  based  on  the
noise levels La and Ld.

The modulation of noise charges within a given part of a 24- hour period  be limited
to  a  ratio  of  40  being  the  maximum  variation  between  the  highest  and  the  lowest
noise charge. A lower ratio may be applied.

For  the  purposes  of  subparagraph  3,  each  24  hour  period  may  be  subdivided
into a maximum of three periods (day,evening and night).

Article 4

Application of the common framework

Member States shall take the necessary measures to  ensure that the  common framework  for
the calculation of noise charges is applied:

(1)

As from 1 April 2004

(a)

in any significant revision of existing systems of noise charges

(b)

for newly introduced systems of noise charges.

(2)

As from 1 April 2006 to any system of noise charges.

Article 5

Information to the public

In order to ensure that the concept of noise productivity is well understood, Member States or
airports authorities may complement  the noise  characteristics of aircraft La  and Ld  used  for
the calculation of noise charges by additional information reflecting the noise productivity of
an aircraft, in particular for aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of more than 34 tonnes.

8

Article 6

Regulatory Committee

1.

2.

3.

The Commission shall be assisted by the Aviation Safety Regulations Committee set
up by Council  Regulation (EEC)  n° 3922/91 of  16 December  199110, composed  of
representatives  of  Member  States  and  chaired  by  the  representative  of  the
Commission (hereinafter referred to as “the committee”).

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  the  regulatory  procedure  laid  down  in
Article 5 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Article 8 thereof.

The period provided for in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468 shall be three months.

Article 7

Review and reporting

The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report based on
experience on the application of this Directive not later than 1 April 2008.

The report shall be accompanied, as appropriate, by proposals to amend this Directive.

Article 8

Transposition

Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions
necessary  to  comply  with  this  Directive  by  one  year  after  its  entry  into  force  at  the  latest.
They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive
or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member
States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

Article 9

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in
the Official Journal of the European Communities.

10

OJ L 373, 31.12.1991, p. 4, amended by Regulation (EEC) N° 2176/96, OJ L 291, 14.11.1996, p. 15

9

                                                
Article 10

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament
The President

For the Council
The President

10

(cid:1)  Calculation of noise charge

ANNEX

The total noise charge for one arrival and one departure at a given airport is:

C = Ca.10^[(La - Ta )/10]+ Cd.10^[(Ld - Td )/10]

where:

Ca and Cd are the unit noise charges at departures and arrivals for the considered airport. Ca
and Cd can be equal to zero. They reflect the relative importance of noise emissions at arrivals
and departures for the impacted population;

La is the certificated noise level at approach;

Ld  =  (Lf  +  Ll)/2,  Lf  and  Ll  are  the  certificated  noise  levels  at  the  flyover  and  lateral
measurement points; and

Ta  and  Td  are  noise  thresholds  at  departures  and  at  arrivals  corresponding  to  categories  of
relatively  quiet  aircraft  for  the  considered  airport.  These  thresholds  are  fixed  around
16 decibels below upper thresholds corresponding to 95 % of the noise energy emitted at the
airport as indicated on the graph.

Cumulated noise
energy at departure
for movements with
noise levels  ≤ L

Noise level L

Modulation of noise charges

According to the principle that charges should be based as closely as possible on underlying
costs, there should be specific noise charges for financing noise mitigation programmes and
other noise charges should be compensated by negative noise charges (rebates) in order to be
revenue neutral.

11

This revenue neutrality should be achieved separately at departure and at arrival. For instance,
at departure the noise charge (positive or negative) should be for the aircraft i 

C i = Cd . [ E d i -1/N . (cid:2) E d j ]

where

Cd is the unit charge for departure at the considered airport

E d i is the relative noise energy at departure for the aircraft which is considered; and

N and (cid:2) E d j are the forecast number of departures and the forecast cumulated noise energy
at departure during the year, which is considered.

C i can be positive or negative.

12