Noise emissions

SWISS is committed to reducing aircraft noise. The primary aim is to reduce aircraft noise at source and to develop optimised flight procedures together with the system partners. To achieve this, we are focusing on measures in five areas:

  • Investments in quieter aircraft
  • Noise-reducing technologies for the existing fleet
  • Development of optimised flight procedures and flight routes
  • Dialogue with airport neighbours and other interest groups 
  • Participation in noise research

Noise footprint management

In the aviation world, the noise that an aircraft causes on the ground is represented in the form of a ‘noise footprint’. The footprint delimits the area on the ground that is exposed to noise from an aircraft at or above a certain decibel level. In the last 20 years, the area around Zurich Airport which is exposed to loud aircraft noise has steadily shrunk, despite constant or growing air traffic volumes.

Investing in low-noise aircraft

Thanks to SWISS’s continuous fleet renewal, noise is constantly being reduced at the source, and with that the noise foot-print of the aircraft. The Airbus A220 short-haul aircraft is only half as loud to the human ear as comparable types. SWISS has been replacing the Airbus A320 family with the much quieter A32xneo since 2019. These fall into the currently most restrictive noise category, ICAO Annex 16, Chapter 14. Two additional aircraft of this type joined the fleet in the 2023 reporting year. All other aircraft operated by SWISS comply with the requirements of ICAO Annex 16, Chapter 4 as a minimum. SWISS is also working with the airports and Skyguide air traffic control to optimise approach and departure procedures as far as possible.

A holistic approach

More and more people are moving into airport regions, not least in view of their infrastructural appeal. Faced with this development boom, local and national politicians need to take preventive planning action to avoid future conflicts of use and to maintain these airports’ further development potential for later generations. Switzerland, too, needs to adopt a holistic view of such issues – like the ICAO Balanced Approach – which duly considers all the parties involved but also commits them all to finding equitable solutions.

The ICAO Balanced Approach

The Balanced Approach to Aircraft Noise Management of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is an internationally accepted tool for resolving noise conflict issues.

Land-use planning
and management

Possible future air traffic developments must be incorporated into housing development planning for local airport regions

 Reduction of noise
at source

Promoting and operating quieter modern aircraft

 Noise abatement operational procedures

Airports must adopt operational procedures (such as optimized arrival and departure procedures) to reduce avoidable noise

 Operating restrictions on aircraft

Operating restrictions on aircraft should only be imposed in exceptional cases and as a last resort

Switzerland has lacked a holistic spatial planning approach to its airport regions to date. This must be rectified to offer further development prospects to the country’s prime international airports and to avoid further housing development in areas known to be exposed to aircraft noise. The last resort – operating restrictions – is already a reality at all of Switzerland’s major airports. And Zurich is one of Europe’s most restricted airports in operational terms.