New initiative launched to study noise reduction procedures at Heathrow

Airbus, British Airways (BA), London Heathrow Airport and UK air navigation service provider NATS have joined forces for a new project to study noise reduction procedures.

As part of the ‘Quieter Flight’ project, the four cross-industry partners will use BA’s A380 aircraft to study and develop operational procedures to reduce the number of people affected by noise around Heathrow Airport.

Airbus’ air traffic management subsidiary Airbus ProSky will design the departure and arrival procedures based on the recommendations by NATS, LHR and BA.

The initial stage of the ‘Quieter Flight’ project will identify the possible operational improvements.

Upon project completion, the partners expect to bring all the improvements together into a series of demonstration flights with the A380 from early 2015.

Airbus customer affairs executive vice-president Christopher Buckley said: "The A380 is the ideal aircraft to conduct the project because it has the latest state-of-the-art technologies that allow optimised paths to be flown precisely.

"Together with Airbus ProSky, we are honoured to be a key player in this unique industry project that addresses a real issue worldwide."

Image: British Airways’ A380 aircraft. Photo: courtesy of Nick Morrish.

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