Case Study: Civil Aviation Authority achieves greater public understanding, transparency and £20,000 annual savings in aircraft noise monitoring with Ordnance Survey mapping

Civil Aviation Authority - Customer Case Study

The Civil Aviation Authority’s Environmental Research and Consultancy Department (ERCD) calculates annual aircraft noise contours around Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted but found contour maps hard for the public to interpret and lacking details such as flight numbers, times and daily variation, which generated mistrust. To address this, ERCD worked with Ordnance Survey using digital raster mapping (OS OpenData and datasets supplied under the Public Sector Mapping Agreement) including 1:10 000, 1:25 000, 1:50 000 and 1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster products.

ERCD overlaid Ordnance Survey map backgrounds with flight paths, trajectories, aircraft counts and noise exposure contours so users can see routes, frequencies and daily ranges alongside noise data. Using Ordnance Survey data made the information more transparent and easier to understand, enabled desk-based site selection to save field time, and delivered measurable savings of more than £20,000 per year in licence fees while improving public engagement and trust.

Civil Aviation Authority

Sam White

Project Manager