Brussels, 11/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 11 February, the European Parliament transport committee (TRAN) confirmed that the European Commission would not have the right to block decisions taken by the local and regional authorities to reduce noise pollution at airports. Committee members approved the compromise obtained at the institutional trilogue by rapporteur, Jörg Leichtfried (S&D, Austria), by 25 votes to 5, with 5 abstentions.
The new regulation stipulates that the Commission simply has the right to be kept informed by the local and regional authorities of decisions on air-traffic restrictions to reduce noise pollution at airports. The Commission will be able to comment on these decisions in the three months following but will not be able to interfere with the decision itself. The legislative text also took into account the consequences of noise on health and provides for modernisation of the aircraft fleet in effort to make them less noisy (25% of the most noisy aircraft per operator will have to be scrapped every year at each airport).
This is the first section in the package to improve airport performance that has been approved. The package having been divided up, it will enable the regulation on noise pollution to enter into application without having to wait for an agreement on the two other chapters (allocating timeslots and ground handling services). (MD/transl.fl)