Aircraft Noise in Berlin Affects Quality of Life Even Outside the Airport Grounds

Abstract

Aircraft noise is a particularly problematic source of noise as many airports are located in or near major cities and, as a result, densely populated areas are affected. Data from the Berlin Aging Study II (Berliner Altersstudie II, BASE-II), whose socio-economic module is based on the longitudinal Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study which has been conducted since 1984, allows us to examine the effect of different levels of aircraft noise on the subjective well-being and health of the older residents of a major city, in this case Berlin. The findings show that the presence of aircraft noise, also measured using objective aircraft noise data, is associated with significantly reduced well-being, lower satisfaction with one’s living environment, and poorer health. The association between well-being and a crossing altitude reduced by 100 meters is given certain assumptions — for crossing altitudes of between 1,000 and 2,500 m — comparable to an income loss of between 30 and 117 euros per month.