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Sustainability

Noise

CAD has put in place a series of measures to manage and control aircraft noise.

The principal legislation for controlling aircraft noise in Hong Kong is the Civil Aviation (Aircraft Noise) Ordinance (Cap.312, The Laws of Hong Kong) and Civil Aviation (Aircraft Noise) (Certification) Regulations. The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) is responsible for enforcing the Ordinance and has implemented a series of noise mitigating measures, including:

  • Avoiding aircraft overflying densely populated urban areas by arranging all arriving aircraft between 11.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. to approach from the southwest of the airport over water, and all aircraft taking off to the northeast between 11.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. of the following day to turn south toward the West Lamma Channel, subject to acceptable wind conditions and safety considerations;
  • Encouraging all aircraft approaching Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) from the northeast between 11.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. of the following day to adopt the Continuous Descent Approach procedure;
  • Requiring all aircraft departing to the northeast to adopt the Noise Abatement Departure Procedure;
  • Encouraging all aircraft equipped with satellite-based navigation technology departing to the northeast of the HKIA between 11.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. of the following day to adopt a set of Radius-to-Fix (RF) flight procedures;
  • Prohibiting aircraft that do not meet the relevant noise standards from landing and taking off in Hong Kong; and
  • Restricting aircraft that do not comply with the relevant noise standards from operating at HKIA between 10.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. of the following day.

In addition, CAD has installed an Aircraft Noise and Flight Tracking Monitoring System to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of various noise mitigating measures, and the noise environment in various districts.

Further details on CAD's aircraft noise management efforts are available on its website. These measures are also described in detail in the Procedures for Mitigation of Aircraft Noise prepared for the Three-Runway System operation.

Additionally, Airport Authority Hong Kong has been implementing the Noise Quota Count Scheme since 2017. The scheme sets an annual “Quota Count” (QC) limit for the night period (between 10.00 p.m. – 6.59 a.m. local time) for each airline. Each aircraft type is assigned a QC classification based its noise level—the smaller the QC value, the quieter the aircraft. While airlines are not allowed to exceed their annual QC limit, they have flexibility to adjust their aircraft mix, including deploying quieter aircraft to meet operational needs and traffic demand. This scheme helps regulate aircraft operations of different noise levels during the night period.