Aircraft noise at Dublin Airport has been estimated to have a human “health cost” of almost €800 million and cause cardiovascular issues for nearly 17,000 people living in its vicinity, a report published on Thursday will say.
The research, conducted by PMCA Economic Consulting, also focuses on the substantial air traffic concentration at the capital’s main hub, which is currently attempting to expand its annual passenger threshold from 32 million.
“A significant consequence of people living close to Dublin Airport in Counties Fingal and Meath is the noise impact of aircraft flying into and out of the airport,” it says. “Many more people are highly annoyed and highly sleep-disturbed.”
The 20-page analysis, produced on behalf of the St Margaret’s The Ward Residents Group, notes that the capital’s gateway accounts for about 85 per cent of total national passenger numbers.
“Tourism is a major economic sector in Ireland and it is critical that competition is effective among the airports in the country,” it says.
Noise levels at Dublin have long been a source of contention among the local community, particularly after the opening of the second runway in 2022. DAA, the company that operates the airport, has several noise mitigation efforts in place, including a scheme to insulate surrounding homes.
Thursday’s report, which makes the case for greater regional spread, cross-references previous Brussels-based data in estimating the level of cardiovascular health effects, and the cost to human health in monetary terms.
Citing 2023 data from the Aircraft Noise Competent Authority (Anca), the State body established to monitor the issue, the report notes that 71,388 people were “highly annoyed” due to exposure to day-evening-night-time aircraft noise. The number of those “highly sleep-disturbed” through exposure to night-time aircraft noise was put at 32,562.
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Separately, the Brussels Airport study conducted by consultants Envisa in 2023 found that 220,000 suffered “annoyance”; 109,000 “sleep disturbance”; and 53,000 “cardiovascular” issues. The total number of people affected, it concluded, was 382,000, with a total “economic cost” estimated at about €2.5 billion.
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While cardiovascular numbers have not been officially calculated for Dublin, the PMCA study used similar “disturbance survey metrics” to the Brussels model to arrive at a figure of 16,746, or 16.1 per cent of the total, and an associated “health impact cost” of €772,083,948.
The report also references a similar noise study carried out by the UK firm Bickerdike Allen Partners (BAP) on behalf of DAA.
The BAP report said the number of people “highly annoyed” during the day decreased with future scenarios modelled on quieter aircraft – Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft makes less noise than the 737-800.
However, the PMCA study shows that, comparing the night-time period, while the number of 737 Max aircraft has increased, so has the number of 737-800s.
“With additional noisier aircraft, one would expect the number of highly sleep disturbed people to increase rather than decrease,” it says.
The health effects of noise has been the subject of previous research in other countries. A study of four major UK airports published in January by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), with research from the University of Leicester, found those living close to airports could be at greater risk of poor heart function and an increased likelihood of heart attacks and life-threatening heart rhythms and strokes.
Last August, in response to an Anca report on noise exposure, DAA said it was “eager to progress with [mitigation] measures”, including insulation for more than 600 homes.
It operates 25 fixed and two mobile noise monitors to understand the noise impact on the local community. Noise reports are published quarterly, with the aim of providing “comprehensive” understanding of levels feeding into mitigation and management strategies.
