Assessment of environmental noise due to aircraft operation at the Athens International Airport according to the 2002/49/EC Directive and the new Greek national legislation

•Airport environmental noise is a crucial quality of life’s environmental factor.•A comparative Study on Aircraft Noise – according to the European Directive 49/2002.•2006 and 2011 Strategic Noise Maps (SNM) and Noise Action Plans were assessed.•Noise indicators Lden and Lnight were calculated in an area of 1,78,000 m2.•2006 Noise Action Plan proven adequate according to Greek legislation limits.

Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” (A.I.A.) is one of the most modern, functional and safest airports in the world and constitutes the largest hub of air travel in south eastern Europe. Environmental noise from aircraft movements at the airport is a crucial environmental factor of urban environment and quality of life especially in Southern European countries where climatic conditions favour outdoor activities and night life. A.I.A. under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, and in collaboration with the University of Thessaly has completed a comparative Study on Aircraft Noise – according to the European Directive 49/2002 (ED 2002/49, 2002) – based on both 2006 and 2011 Strategic Noise Maps (SNM) and Noise Action Plans for the EU indicators Lden and Lnight. A full statistical analysis of predicted vs measured noise levels based on the existing A.I.A.’s Noise Monitoring System (NOMOS), is also completed in order to evaluate accuracy of both SNM’s and the relevant comparative data. The comparison analysis for both SNM’s clearly states the efficiency of the introduced Noise Action Plan taking also into account the latest traffic operation data.