The tool for monitoring noise pollution at Walloon airports is being refined to make it possible for people to access data on the noise control of aircraft in real-time on a mobile phone.
While the revision of the airport noise exposure plans is still pending, Sowaer (Société wallonne des aéroports) is refining the noise monitoring tool for Bierset and Gosselies, Le Soir reports.
The company, which manages the structural investments of the two airports, put the data collected directly by its network of sound level metres (16 in Bierset, 17 in Charleroi) online in 2020 via its Diapason software.
Now the data available is not only more accurate, but it is also accessible via a mobile phone application.
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“This information was already available on request; here, the system allows everyone to access it directly,” explained Sowaer's general manager Thibaut de Villanfagne.
“Our aim is to ensure total transparency,” added Nicolas Thisquen, chairman of the management committee. “It's a tool that can certainly be improved, but which probably has no equivalent in other airports.”
Mapping noise pollution in relation to location
The app allows people to enter a position such as their home or current location, then live-check the noise emitted by a passing aircraft at the airport or nearby, via the nearest sound level metre, or others.
A more detailed check also makes it possible to see the aircraft that are directly concerned by the two Walloon airports (and to identify those that are only passing through), then integrate their position into the noise exposure plan (the plan that specifies the soundproofing solutions proposed by the Region according to the intensity of the nuisance).
An analysis is also possible by municipality, which can prove useful in objectifying complaints from neighbourhoods, or for people looking to buy or rent property near the airports.
The system also makes it possible to check how far away a house is from aircraft with data going back one month.
