Current and future noise impacts of the UK hub airport

Noise is a negative byproduct of aviation operations, the effects of which can have a significant impact on human health and welfare. In this study, we model the present day noise impacts from two London airports: Heathrow and Gatwick. We monetize perceivable and attributable impacts using a willingness to pay for abatement from hedonic pricing studies, and we monetize other health impacts by combining the value of life years lost from mortalities and a cost of illness approach. We find that noise generated by operations at these two airports impacts 255,800 people, contributing to 54 myocardial infarctions and 17 premature mortalities each year. We find annual total damages of £80.3 million and £0.87 million attributable to Heathrow and Gatwick respectively. Further, we calculate expected noise impacts in 2030. Due to capacity constraints and technology improvements, noise impacts are expected to decrease to £76.5 million per annum if neither airport undergoes expansion. However, if Heathrow expands through runway extension or construction of an additional runway, total damages increase £92.5 million or £104.6 million respectively. Expanding Gatwick with a second independent runway results in total annual damages of £78.8 million.