The noise prevention zones for the three Berlin traffic airports Tegel, Tempelhof and Schönefeld were based on ordinances which were in turn based on the federal law in the version valid as of 26 November 1986, and the Berlin Aircraft Noise Law of 7 February 1975:
These are the ordinances for the establishment of noise prevention zones for commercial airports:
- Berlin-Tegel, of 4 June 1976
- Berlin-Tempelhof, of 27 May 1997
- Berlin-Schönefeld of 25 June 1997.
Accordingly, the noise prevention zone encompasses the area outside the airport terrain, in which “the equivalent permanent sound level LAeq caused by aircraft noise” is more than 67 dB (A). This area is subdivided into two protection zones. Protection Zone 1 encompasses the area in which the equivalent permanent sound level is more than 75 dB (A); Protection Zone 2 is formed by the remaining area of the noise prevention zone.
These equivalent permanent noise levels are not comparable with those of the strategic noise maps. Deviations between the calculations for these levels occur due to the equivalence parameters, the stricter limits for the evening hours, and the forecast horizon.
Technically, the demarcation of the noise prevention zones is determined by interpolated connecting lines between the curve points stated in the Ordinance by means of polynomial interpolation, provided these lines are outside the airport terrain.
The protection zones stipulate certain restrictions for the purpose of the protection of the residents concerned against noise:
- In principle, residential buildings may not be built in Protection Zone 1 of the noise protection zone.
- In Protection Zone 2, construction is permitted only for buildings which meet certain structural soundproofing requirements.
- The construction of facilities requiring special protection, such as hospitals and schools, is forbidden in both protection zones.
The new version of the Aircraft Noise Law has been in effect since 1 June 2007.
The key aspects of the amended law are particularly an adaptation to the requirements of structural soundproofing, and also the following stipulations:
- considerably stricter emissions limits for the certification of protection zones, by up to 15 dB(A) for the daytime Protection Zones 1 and 2 for airports which are new/ or structurally fundamentally changed, and for existing airports
- the introduction of a night protection zone with permanent noise level values between 50 and 55 dB(A).
The map also shows the planning zones which are not directly based on the Flight Noise Protection Law. These are:
- A Planning Zone against Aircraft Noise in the area of Tegel Airport: here, an area in which particularly sensitive uses were precluded and stricter soundproofing requirements imposed for other uses was established in the 2004 Land Use Plan on the basis of § 5, Sect. 2, No. 6 of the Building Code (BauGB).
- Two Residential Restriction Planning Zones I & II as a zoning goal in the Berlin and Brandenburg Joint State Development Plan for Airport Site Development (LEP-FS), which stipulates that for the sake of protection against aircraft noise, no new residential areas or particularly noise-sensitive facilities may be represented or established in land-use and development plans under § 5, Sect. 1 of the law.
All three noise contours are described in detail in the implementation instructions (AV-FNP).