Suburbs face a noisy future

A new commercial airport in Baldonnel would create noise pollution which could irk the residents of some of Dublin's most expensive suburbs.

The most likely flight path for aircraft arriving at Baldonnel would be a direct line from Dun Laoghaire pier to The Square in Tallaght, followed by a right turn towards Baldonnel. This means aircraft would pass over Monks town, Stillorgan, Goatstown, Dun drum and Rathfarnham. The flight path would also skirt Blackrock, Mount Merrion, Churchtown and Templeogue.

The noise problem was highlighted by an Air Corps air traffic controller, Comdt Kevin Byrne, in 1995, when Dr Tony Ryan raised the idea of creating a civil airport alongside the military facilities.

At the time, Comdt Byrne wrote that "residents of the most expensive properties in Ireland may be expected to receive repetitive jet aircraft noise . . . It is inconceivable that these people would accept this situation lightly."

Comdt Byrne singled out 737200 "stage 2" aircraft as being particularly noisy in their approach to airports. Ryanair currently has 23 such aircraft. Ten of them have been fitted with "hush kits" since Comdt Byrne's article was written and the other 13 will have their noise levels reduced by April 2002. Ryanair says its new fleet of 737800s comply with the strictest noise pollution requirements.

The Dun Laoghaire-Tallaght-Baldonnel route is employed when the wind blows in a westerly direction, which is usually the case around Baldonnel. Aircraft would fly at about 4,000 feet or less over Dun Laoghaire, reducing their altitude to between 1,500 and 1,800 feet over Tallaght.

While the noise levels of newer aircraft are significantly lower than those of the stage 2 737-200s, Comdt Byrne pointed out that the frequency of the flights can be as disturbing as the actual noise, particularly at night.