'As Long As People Fly... There Will Be Noise'

A plan to force commercial aircraft using Edinburgh Airport to switch to quieter aircraft engines may levy fines against RAF and vintage aircraft for engine noise.

"As long as people want to fly, there will be noise from aircraft landing and taking off," said Richard Jeffrey, managing director of Edinburgh Airport. "We cannot make the noise go away. However, we can take action against aircraft that are unreasonably loud and encourage airlines to minimize the disturbance to our local communities."

The move was welcomed June 3, by local residents and politicians.

The fines vary from £500 to £1000 ($942 to $1,884 USD), and could bring in around £30,000 ($56,500USD) a year for airport operator BAA. But the cash will all be put into a community fund, to benefit people in west Edinburgh who suffer from noise pollution, according to the Edinburgh Evening News.

Any aircraft louder than a lawnmower, a hairdryer or a blender -- which tend to be around 90dB -- could be fined. On take-off, aircraft noise hits around 140dB on the noise scale.

"We are introducing fines for aircraft that break our stated noise thresholds, with all money put into local good causes," said Jeffrey. "Edinburgh Airport is serious about noise and is committed to acting responsibly with respect to our community neighbors."

Older and noisier aircraft are already charged more to land at the city's airport by BAA.

A few RAF VC-10s are still in service, and are used as aerial refueling and transport aircraft, according to the Evening News. The News reports the VC-10 (file photo of type, below) is one of the noisiest planes in the history of jet civil aviation, due to the close coupling of its four engines at the tail.

BAA said it has checked its conditions of use, and believes it has the power to fine the Ministry of Defence. A spokesman for the RAF said he expected the penalties would simply be added to the Ministry of Defence's invoice for landing costs.

FMI: www.edinburghairport.com