NOISE POLLUTION FOR HOMES NEAR SELETAR AIRPORT

NOISE POLLUTION FOR HOMES NEAR SELETAR AIRPORT

29.

Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Transport with the increasing use of Seletar Airport as a base for aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul in Asia (a) whether the Ministry is aware of the noise pollution caused by aircraft when they fly over low rise housing estates in the area; and (b) what is the current policy for aircraft when they fly over such residential areas.

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: Members will recall that in July 2009, Er Lee from Ang Mo Kio GRC had asked a similar question and the House was informed about the measures taken to minimize the potential impact of aircraft noise in the planning and development of the Seletar Aerospace Park.? Consultancy studies and noise measurements carried out by CAAS and JTC showed that, with the measures, noise levels will still be well within internationally established development planning norms for residential areas near an airport. Let me now touch on the key measures that have been taken.

CAAS seeks to minimise the need for aircraft to overfly residential areas in the design of flight paths around Singapore's airports. However, it is not possible for all aircraft flight paths to avoid overflying residential areas altogether. Flight paths of aircraft landing at or taking off from an airport have to be aligned with the runway. For safety reasons, there is also the need for these profiles to be clear of adjacent airports. As such, there is little leeway to alter or divert the flight paths of aircraft operating at Seletar Airport and it is unavoidable that some flights will overfly nearby residential areas.

For Seletar Airport, CAAS will minimise aircraft landings from the south where most of the residential housing are located. This is to avoid aircraft overflying the residential areas and thereby reduce the noise disturbance. However, landing from the north is not always possible as this is dependent on the prevailing wind direction. To further reduce the noise, CAAS has also imposed altitude restrictions requiring aircraft to be no lower than 1,500 ft (about 450 metres) when they have to overfly the residential areas to the south and west of Seletar Airport.

Another noise abatement measure taken is to prohibit training flights and cargo flights between the hours of 10.00 pm to 7.00 am daily, the period when residents are resting and sleeping.

In addition, CAAS disallows older and noisier jet aircraft that do not meet international standards on aircraft noise from operating into Singapore. Jet aircraft which operate to Seletar are generally newer-generation ones which are quieter and meet these standards.

CAAS will continue to monitor the noise level closely and regularly review the aircraft noise abatement measures for improvement where appropriate, taking into account any new technological advancements that could enhance flight safety, and further minimise noise disturbance to residents.