Regulations and Government
New noise rules may bar some Stage 3 a/c
The European Commission (EC) has issued revised noise proposals that abandon its earlier demands for a blanket ban on hush-kitted aircraft with mtow of mor

The European Commission (EC) has issued revised noise proposals that abandon its earlier demands for a blanket ban on hush-kitted aircraft with mtow of more than 75,000 lb using any airports in the 15-state European Union (EU) after this coming April. But the new draft directive, published on November 28, leaves open the possibility of a limited number of individual airports being able to exclude or restrict “marginal Stage 3” aircraft.

The proposed legislation is expected to be put before the European Parliament this month and ratified by the EU Council of Ministers before April. The EC has said that it will formally withdraw the controversial hush-kit ban that it introduced in April 1999.