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1/11/01

Reply by John Burke, CE Aer Rianta
to
G.V.Wright regarding Noise and Flight Track Monitoring System.

Thank you for your letter of 27th September 2001 enquiring about the status of our Noise and Flight Track Monitoring System.

We sought submissions through the EU Journal in March of this year from suitably qualified manufacturers of noise and flight track monitoring systems.

We received initial proposals from five manufacturers, including proposals from American and Australian companies. After a technical appraisal it was agreed in early .lune to appoint Bruel & Kjaer, a Danish manufacturer, and their Irish agent, Edpac, to supply and install a new monitoring system. Since that time extensive technical discussions, involving the Irish Aviation Authority, Bruel & Kjaer and ourselves, have resulted in a final specification being agreed and all technical matters over the exchange of radar information being resolved.

The first elements of the system are expected here at Dublin Airport within the next few of weeks and we anticipate hav'ing the flight track monitoring element operational by the end of November. We will obviously then have to go through a rigorous testing and commissioning phase but it should be producing very useful information before the end of the year.

The second element of installation concerns the physical location of the six noise monitoring stations. Discussions with various landowners were not able to commence until the successful supplier had been appointed and had carried out a detailed survey of the various sites to ensure acoustic compatibiliry. This is necessary because each manufacturer tends to have slightly differing location requirements for the monitoring stations.

Out of six landowners approached three have so far agreed to Aer Rianta's applying for planning permission for the siting of these small monitoring stations on their land and those applications are being lodged with Fingal County Council. We are still attempting to conclude discussions with the three remaining landowners but if these prove unsuccessful we can locate the monitors on poles on the side of public roads. This solution, although not the preferred one, is
standard enough throughout Europe as understandably some landowners do not wish to allow access across their land for the installation and route maintenance of the monitoring stations.

In the meantime we can make use of the two portable noise monitoring stations which we have ordered so we will be gathering some noise data in the next few months.

This noise and flight track monitoring equipment and the outputs from ~t will be a very positive development, both for Aer Rianta and all our communities. We are arranging a series of introductions, demonstrations and workshops to make the existence and potential of the equipment known to all. I expect to be writing to you in the near future to extend an invitation to you and your Parliamentary colleagues to have first sight of this equipment at a short introductory session in early December.

We recognise that the impact of airport operations on local communities is of critical importance. The introduction of this new system is just one development of many which we have planned for the near future.

If you require any further details on the new equipment please feel free to contact David Hepburn, General Manager Community Affairs & Environment, who is responsible for this area.

Yours sincerely

JohnBurke
Chief Executive, Aer Rianta