One of the features of air travel is that while many of the benefits are spread across society as a whole, many of the adverse impacts are distributed unevenly. People living near airports have to live with the immediate effects of aircraft noise, air quality problems and increased congestion on local roads. Urbanisation sometimes associated with airport development can also have adverse impacts on landscape and habitats. Information in this section highlights the actions that can be taken to alleviate and control these adverse effects.

Aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme

The Department for Transport and Department of Energy and Climate Change are jointly leading work to transpose the EU Directive to include aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) into UK legislation. All flights departing from and arriving at EU airports will be included in the EU ETS from 2012, and to comply with the Directive aircraft operators will be required to monitor emissions from 1 January 2010.

19 October 2009: The UK Director General of Civil Aviation has written an open letter to the 891 aircraft operators regulated by the UK, highlighting the important deadlines that operators should be aware of, and explaining how to comply.

Details of arrangements for regulating the aviation sector in the UK under the EU ETS can be found on the DECC website.

• Facilitating Regulation by the UK under the Aviation EU Emissions Trading Sysytem (EU ETS), 16 March 2011
• UK Aviation: Carbon Reduction Futures
• Aviation Environment Programme Board
• Aviation Emissions Cost Assessment 2008
• Noise exposure contours
• The Civil Aviation Authority (Air Navigation) Directions, 23 December 2005, last updated 30 January 2006
• Guidance to the Civil Aviation Authority on environmental objectives, 16 March 2005, last updated 23 December 2005