Airbus, British Airways, Heathrow, and NATS Partner for Quieter Flights

August 5, 2014

Matthew Monaghan

The partnership between Airbus, British Airways, Heathrow Airport, and NATS to study noise-reduction procedures will utilize the capabilities of Airbus’ A380, which is the quietest aircraft of its size.

Airbus, British Airways (BA), Heathrow Airport (LHR), and NATS (the main air navigation service provider in the U.K.) have established a partnership to study and develop operational procedures to reduce the number of people affected by noise around London’s Heathrow. This project utilizes the capabilities of British Airways’ A380, the quietest aircraft of its size, and looks at how the aircraft manufacturer, airline, airport, and air navigation services provider can further reduce the noise impact of flight operations for local communities. Airbus ProSky, the air traffic management subsidiary of Airbus, is in charge of designing the departure and arrival procedures based on NATS, LHR, and BA recommendations. The partners have announced a three-stage ‘Quieter Flight’ project. The first stage identifies the operational improvements that are possible, such reducing thrust and optimizing the height at which the aircraft is flown during departure. The second stage will see the testing and training of procedures in a British Airways flight simulator. Once all the project stages are complete, the partners expect to bring all the operational improvements together into a series of demonstration flights with the A380, starting from early next year. These procedures will then be made available to other operators and airports around the world.