Net noise relief for the region: Berlin Airports committed to Noise Awareness Day

New exhibition provides information about aircraft noise measurements and noise-related charges / sustained reduction of construction noise at BBI / 140 million Euros for noise protection at BBI

With a new exhibition, a mobile noise test point and its noise protection bus, Berlin Airports provided information about aircraft noise and the BBI’s noise protection programme to residents of the Blankenfelde-Mahlow borough today. The airport’s employees laid particular emphasis on how aircraft noise is measured. Using graphics and charts, the calculation of day and night protection zones for residents living near airports was illustrated in detail. The identification of these zones is an important point of reference for the residents as to whether an application for noise protection stands to be successful.

Particular attention in noise protection lies in the introduction of noise-related charges for BBI. Different rates need to be paid depending on the outgoing noise pollution of an airplane: quiet machines pay much less than loud airplanes. Thus, the number of especially loud airplanes at the Schoenefeld Airport has been lowered significantly in recent years.

airportworld’s BBI staff also informed the Berlin Airports’ visitor centre today about the measures with which the construction noise will be held as low as possible. Particularly low noise construction machines are used to relieve the pressure for the residents in Schoenefeld, Selchow and Rotberg. The number of just seven complaints in six years confirms the success of the construction noise management.

Berlin Airports recommends all residents living close to BBI to submit their application for noise protection by 3 June 2011. By doing so, a guarantee that the measures are implemented according to plan by the time the new airport opens one year later is made. What still holds, of course: up until five years after the BBI opens, so up until June 2017, noise protection applications can still be filed.

As a basic principle, Berlin Airports depends on the residents’ participation when implementing the BBI noise protection programme – whether with their submission of necessary documents, the noise protection property assessment or ultimately commissioning the appropriate construction company.

“The owners know their own flats or houses best, of course, and should support the engineering offices with their work – whether with pointers regarding rolling shutters or with information about earlier additions to the buildings”, says Ralf Künkel, CEO of Berlin Airports. He points out: “Our decision for reimbursement for noise protection is based on a sense of pragmatism and on case-by-case judgement. But what’s also holds is that anything that hasn’t been built to comply with building regulations at some point, so anything that’s been “built under the table”, isn’t refunded.