Noise

Air traffic at Karlovy Vary Airport has some negative impact on the environment; the most noted being air traffic noise-related issues.

On global scale, noise-related issues are addressed in accordance with the strategy of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which is based on the Guidance on the Balanced Approach to Aircraft Noise Management. The policy promotes achieving maximum environmental benefits in the most cost-effective manner. The balanced approach is based on four pillars:

• Reducing Noise at Source
• Land-Use Planning and Management
• Noise Abatement Operational Procedures
• Aircraft Operational Restrictions

As per the current operations of Karlovy Vary Airport, with a very small number of movements of larger and noisier aircraft, the principle of Noise Reduction at Source is not applied at the moment. In practice, it is implemented in the form of noise charges based on the noise category of a particular aircraft.

Noise Abatement Operational Procedures currently include rules for pilot training in the vicinity of the airport, i.e., local flight activities, as well as rules for aerobatics, including time limits for these activities, and are applied through Co-operation Agreements on Aircraft Operations of Partners Based at Karlovy Vary Airport. Unfortunately, at this point in time, the same measures cannot be effectively and fully applied to other operators of flight schools and private aircraft not based at Karlovy Vary Airport.

However, due to the existing meteorological, technical and operational conditions, there may be a situation where, with regard to the safe execution of the flight, it is not possible to comply with some noise abatement measures. In such cases, the measures are thus not binding.

Mandatory flight trajectories for local aviation activities around Karlovy Vary Airport:

The minimum flight altitude is, except for the take-off and approach flight phases, set at 1,000ft, i.e., 300 metres.

Ban on operations in the Local Flight Activity (LFA) mode:

• On weekdays after 10:00 p.m. and before 07:00 a.m. local time
• On Saturdays before 9:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m. local time
• On state-recognised holidays and Sundays

Aerobatic Flight Restricted Zone:

Noise Study

In 2020, as a result of the increase in the training flight operations, the Karlovy Vary Region commissioned an update of the noise study originally drafted in 2008. This update factors in the expected development of traffic until 2025, including the maximum flight school capacity and traffic volumes in all other segments. The update also included an independent health risk assessment.

Detailed outputs and conclusions of the update are available on the website of the Karlovy Vary Region: Update of Karlovy Vary Airport Noise Study (2019)(URL)