The Act for Protection against Aircraft Noise regulates land-use restrictions in construction and structural sound insulation in the vicinity of airports as well as the reimbursement of expenses for structural sound insulation measures and construction bans. For this purpose, a noise protection area is established for all commercial airports with scheduled airline services or charter air traffic, for all military airfields with jet operations and for other airfields, using binding predefined processes. This involves two daytime protection zones and, for airfields with night-time air traffic (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.), also a separate night-time protection zone. The noise protection area is defined by ordinances of the federal states [Art. 4 FluLärmG].
Regardless of the definition of noise protection areas, the aircraft noise burden is assessed regularly in Berlin as part of the implementation of the EU Environmental Noise Directive. In-depth results are published in the individual maps under the topic of “Strategic Noise Maps” (07.05, SenStadtWohn 2017). The Noise Mapping Ordinance (Verordnung über die Lärmkartierung, 34th BImSchV) for implementing the EU Environmental Noise Directive applies here. Its results influence the evaluations comprised in the latest rent index of the State of Berlin respectively.
Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL)
Under the Act for Protection against Aircraft Noise in accordance with Art. 4 (2) Sentence 1 of the Ordinance of the state government in question, all federal states were obliged to establish a noise protection area, and, in the case of existing airfields, re-establish a noise protection area by the end of 2009, pursuant to Art. 4 (4) Sentence 1.
Initially, this did not apply to Berlin Tegel commercial airport (TXL), according to Art. 4 (7) Sentence 1. This was the case as following the “revocation of the planning approval”, as promulgated on February 16, 2006 in the Amtsblatt (Official Bulletin) 56, Volume 10 of March 3, 2006, the closure of the airport was announced with legal effect within six months of the opening of Berlin Brandenburg commercial airport. As TXL could not be closed within the ten-year period specified in Art. 4 (7) Sentence 1, due to the delay in the opening of Berlin Brandenburg commercial airport, a new noise protection area had to be established for Berlin Tegel commercial airport by December 31, 2019 at the latest; the intention to close the airport and the resulting actual remaining time of use notwithstanding.
This area was established pursuant to the ordinances of the Berlin Senate of December 17, 2019 (FlugLärmTXLV Bln) and the State of Brandenburg of November 12, 2019. It replaces the noise protection area of 1976. The process of establishing a noise protection area is therefore the same as that of 2013 used for Berlin Brandenburg Airport (cf. Statistical Base).
Once the complete and permanent cessation of airport operations is ensured and the operator of Berlin Tegel commercial airport has been released from their duties, both the Berlin and Brandenburg ordinances determining the noise protection area for Berlin Tegel commercial airport shall cease to apply – the TXL noise protection area will lapse.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER)
Two independent regulations apply to BER Airport:
On the one hand, this involves the protection and compensation areas according to the planning approval of 2004, including the plan amendment of 2009, and on the other hand the noise protection area according to the Act for Protection against Aircraft Noise of 2007. They differ, among other things, in their areas of application and their protection goals.
While the protection areas and claims based on the planning approval and plan amendment are usually of larger size, reimbursement claims for structural sound insulation measures may be even more extensive in individual cases according to the FluLärmG and depending on definitions of land use.
Due to the timing of its planning approval, the development of Berlin Schönefeld Airport (SXF) to form Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) is, from a legal perspective, neither the construction of a new airfield nor a substantial structural expansion (Art. 1 (1) FluLärmG). In fact, it is Art. 2 (2) of the same law, which concerns existing airfields, that applies here.
A new noise protection area was additionally defined in 2013 for the fully developed Berlin Brandenburg Airport, based on the flight routes underlying planning approval and a new forecast regarding flight movements.
The flight routes established by the Federal Authority for Air Navigation Services (Bundesaufsichtsamt für Flugsicherung) differ greatly from those of the planning approval at times. New flight procedures have also been taken into account, which are safe and technically feasible, but which have yet to be proven in practice. For this purpose, the flight routes and procedures used in the first two full successive flight plan periods will be evaluated after BER is put into operation.
Based on the data of the first full year of operation (two successive flight plan periods), the Brandenburg approval authority (Brandenburger Genehmigungsbehörde) will subsequently redefine the protection and compensation areas hitherto established based on the planning approval (not shown here on the map).
Regardless of this, the noise protection area according to the FluLärmG will also be re-established on the same basis.
Note: Further information e.g. on the determination of the noise protection area or on the reimbursement of expenses for structural sound insulation measures according to FluLärmG can be found at the Brandenburg Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection (Ministerium für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und Klimaschutz des Landes Brandenburg, only in German). Further information on planning approval and on the noise protection policy around BER Airport can be found at the Brandenburg State Office for Construction and Transport (Landesamt für Bauen und Verkehr, LBV, only in German).