The technical and the legal aspects of aircraft noise having been adequately covered by others the present paper does not stray unnecessarily into those specialised fields but confines itself largely to the practical aspects of this very wide subject. It examines under six headings what can be done in practice, and covers in some detail what has been done at Heathrow. It describes several of the more interesting arrangements at other international airports, and with reference to the differences between them, poses some questions which must be answered when planning an automatic noise monitoring system. It concludes with reference to some features which, although desirable, may not be practicable for Heathrow.

Before talking about what can be done about noise in the vicinity of an airport it is important to emphasise that worthwhile control can be achieved only as a result of co-operation between the civil aviation and airport authorities, the airlines and the pilots. Such co-operation exists at Heathrow but continuous effort is required to keep it effective.