CIVIL AVIATION (AIRCRAFT NOISE) ORDINANCE

CIVIL AVIATION (AIRCRAFT NOISE) ORDINANCE

LAWS OF HONG KONG

CIVIL AVIATION (AIRCRAFT NOISE) ORDINANCE

CHAPTER 312

OF

REVISED EDITION 1986

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER
HONG KONG





CHAPTER 312

CIVIL AVIATION (AIRCRAFT NOISE)

To control the emission of noise by aircraft andfor matters ancillary
thereto or connected therewith.



1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Civil Aviation (Aircraft
Noise) Ordinance and shall come into operation on a day to be
appointed by the Governor by notice in the Gazette.

2. (1) In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires

,,aerodrome' means any area of land or water designed, equipped, set
apart or commonly used for affording facilities for the landing and
taking off of aircraft and includes any area or space, whether on the
ground, on the roof of a building or elsewhere which is designed,
equipped or set apart for affording facilities for the landing and
taking off of aircraft capable of descending or climbing vertically
and includes an aerodrome the management of which is vested in
the Government of Hong Kong or in the Governor;

,,aerodrome manager' means the person for the time being who
manages an aerodrome or, in his absence, the person who for the
time being manages the air traffic of the aerodrome and, except in
section 7(2) and (3), includes a public officer or other Crown
servant;

'the Annex' means Annex 16 to the Chicago Convention in so far as it
relates to international standards and recommended practices for
aircraft noise, any provision of the Chicago Convention for giving
effect to Annex 16 and any amendment to Annex 16 made in
accordance with the Chicago Convention in so far as it relates to
such standards and practices;

'the Chicago Convention' means the Convention on International Civil
Aviation which was, on 7 December 1944, signed on behalf of the
Government of the United Kingdom at the International Civil
Aviation Conference held at Chicago;

'contracting State' means a State which is a party to the Chicago
Convention;

'Director' means the Director of Civil Aviation;

'noise certificate' means a certificate of compliance, by the aircraft to
which it relates, with the standards of noise prescribed in the
Annex and applicable to such an aircraft or which are equivalent to,
or more restrictive than, such standards;

,,operator', in relation to an aircraft, means the person having the
management of the aircraft for the time being, or in relation to a
time, at that time;





'prescribed' means prescribed by the regulations;

'regulations' means regulations under section 9;

',scheduled journey' means one of a series of journeys which are
undertaken between the same two places and which amount to
a systematic service operated in such a manner that the benefits
thereof are available to members of the public from time to time
seeking advantage of them.

(2) Any function vested in the Director by this Ordinance may
be performed by the Deputy Director of Civil Aviation or by any
public officer authorized by the Director or by the Deputy Director
of Civil Aviation.

3. (1) Subject to this Ordinance and the regulations, as from
a day to be notified by the Governor by notice in the Gazette an
aircraft shall not land or take off in Hong Kong unless-

(a)there is in force in respect of that aircraft a noise certificate
issued by-
(i) the Director; or
(ii) a contracting State; or

(b)there is other documentary proof of compliance by the
aircraft with the standards of noise prescribed in the
Annex and applicable to the aircraft.

(2) The Governor may, in the exercise of his powers under
subsection (1), specify different days for different classes of aircraft.

4. The Director may by notice in writing to the operator of
any aircraft permit the aircraft to land or take off in Hong Kong in
circumstances not permitted by section 3(1):

Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to an aircraft
which lands or takes off when carrying passengers, mail or cargo for
hire or reward upon a scheduled journey.

5. (1) The Director may, by notice in the Gazette, provide
that it shall be the duty of the operator of an aircraft which is to take
off or land at an aerodrome designated in the notice to secure that,
after the aircraft takes off or, as the case may be, before it lands at
the aerodrome, such requirements as are specified in the notice are
complied with in relation to the aircraft, being requirements appear-
ing to the Director to be appropriate for the purpose of limiting or of
mitigating the effect of noise and vibration connected with the
taking off or landing of aircraft at the aerodrome.

(2) If it appears to the Director that any requirement specified
in relation to an aerodrome in a notice published in pursuance of
subsection (1) has not been complied with in respect of any aircraft
he may, after affording to the operator of the aircraft an opportunity
of making representations to him with respect to the matter and
after considering any representations then made by this operator,
give to the aerodrome manager a direction requiring him to secure





that, until the Director revokes the direction, facilities for using the
aerodrome are withheld to the extent specified in the direction from
aircraft of which the person aforesaid is the operator and from his
servants; and it shall be the duty of the aerodrome manager to
comply with the direction:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall require the
aerodrome manager to prevent an aircraft from landing at the
aerodrome.

(3) Any notice published in pursuance of subsection (1) may
contain such incidental or supplementary provisions as the Director
considers appropriate.

(4) Any operator of an aircraft who fails to comply with any
requirement of a notice under subsection (1) commits an offence and
is liable on conviction to a fine of $50,000.

6. (1) If the Director considers it appropriate, for the pur-
pose of avoiding, limiting or mitigating the effect of noise and
vibration connected with the taking off or landing of aircraft at an
aerodrome, to prohibit aircraft from taking off or landing, or to
limit the number of occasions on which they may take off or land,
at an aerodrome during certain periods, he may by notice in the
Gazette-

(a)prohibit aircraft of descriptions specified in the notice from
taking off or landing at the aerodrome (otherwise than in
an emergency) during periods so specified;
(b)specify the maximum number of occasions on which
aircraft of descriptions so specified may be permitted to
take off or land at the aerodrome (otherwise than in an
emergency) during periods so specified; or

(c)determine the persons who shall be entitled to arrange for
aircraft of which they are the operators to take off or land
at the aerodrome during the periods specified under para-
graph (b) and, in respect of each of those persons, the
number of occasions on which aircraft of a particular
description of which he is the operator may take off or land
at the aerodrome during those periods.

(2) Subject to subsection (3)(a) and (b) it shall be the duty of
the aerodrome manager to secure that the prohibitions or restric-
tions relating to the aerodrome which are imposed by notice under
subsection (1) are complied with.

(3) The following supplementary provisions shall have effect
for the purposes of subsection (1)-

(a)nothing in that subsection shall require an aerodrome
manager to prevent an aircraft from landing at the
aerodrome;
(b)the Director may, by notice in writing to the aerodrome
manager to which a notice under that subsection relates,





determine that a particular occasion or series of occasions
on which aircraft take off or land at the aerodrome shall
be disregarded for the purposes of the notice under that
subsection; and

(c)any notice published in pursuance of that subsection may
contain such exceptions and such incidental or supple-
mentary provisions as the Director considers appropriate.

(4) Subject to subsection (3), any person who fails to comply
with any requirement of a notice under subsection (1) commits an
offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $50,000.

7. (1) The Director may give to an aerodrome manager such
directions as he considers appropriate for the purpose of avoiding,
limiting or mitigating the effect of noise and vibration connected
with the taking off or landing of aircraft at the aerodrome; and it
shall be the duty of the aerodrome manager to comply with the
directions.

(2) The Director may, after consultation with an aerodrome
manager, by notice in writing require him at his own expense-

(a)to provide in an area and within a period specified in the
notice, and to maintain and operate in accordance with
any instructions so specified, such equipment for measur-
ing noise in the vicinity of the aerodrome as is so specified;
and

(b)to make to the Director such reports as are so specified
with respect to the noise measured by the equipment and to
permit any person authorized by the Director for the
purpose to inspect the equipment on demand at any time,

and it shall be the duty of the aerodrome manager to comply with
the requirements of the notice.

(3) If a person fails to perform any requirement or duty
imposed on him by notice under subsection (2) the Director may,
after affording him an opportunity of making representations to the
Director with respect to the matter and after considering any
representations then made by him-

(a)take such steps as the Director considers appropriate for
remedying the failure, which may include steps to secure
the provision, maintenance and operation of equipment by
the Director; and

(b)recover in any court of competent jurisdiction from the
person aforesaid any reasonable expense attributable to
the taking of those steps which is incurred by the Director
from time to time,

and if a person fails to perform any duty imposed on him by a notice
under subsection (2)(b), then without prejudice to the preceding
provisions of this subsection he-





(i) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of
$20,000; and
(ii) if the failure continues after his conviction of an offence
under this subsection arising from the failure, is liable to a
daily penalty of $10,000.

8. (1) If it appears to the Director that an aircraft is about to
take off in contravention of any prohibition or restriction imposed
in pursuance of this Ordinance, then, without prejudice to any
powers exercisable by virtue of this Ordinance by the aerodrome
manager, any person authorized by the Director for the purpose
may detain the aircraft for such period as that person considers
appropriate for preventing the contravention and may, for the
purpose of detaining the aircraft, enter upon any land.

(2) If it appears to a person authorized for the purpose by the
aerodrome manager that an aircraft is about to take off in contraven-
tion of any prohibition or restriction imposed in pursuance of this
Ordinance, then without prejudice to any other provision of this
Ordinance, the person so authorized may detain the aircraft for such
period as he considers appropriate for preventing the contravention
and may, for the purpose of detaining the aircraft, enter upon any
land.

9. (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations-

(a) for carrying out the Annex;

(b)specifying the circumstances in which a noise certificate
may be granted and the conditions which may be imposed;

(c)as to the manner and conditions of the issue, validation,
renewal, extension of any certificate or other document
required by this Ordinance or the regulations (including
any examinations and tests to be undergone), and as to
the form, custody, production, cancellation, suspension,
endorsement and surrender of any such document;

(d)for specifying the fees to be paid in respect of the issue,
validation, renewal, extension or variation of any certi-
ficate or other document or the undergoing of any ex-
amination or test required by the regulations and in respect
of any other matters in respect of which it appears to the
Governor in Council to be expedient for the purposes of
the regulations to charge fees;

(e)for exempting from the provisions of this Ordinance or the
regulations, either absolutely or conditionally, any aircraft
or class of aircraft;

generally for restricting or mitigating aircraft noise and
vibration;

(g)authorizing the taking of such steps as may be necessary or
expedient for the better enforcement of the Ordinance





including, without derogation from the generality of the
foregoing, power to enter upon or detain any aircraft;

(h)prescribing the manner in which any notice under this
Ordinance may be given; and

(i)for any matter required or permitted by this Ordinance to
be prescribed.

(2) The regulations may make different provision with respect
to different classes of aircraft and for different aerodromes or classes
of aerodrome.

(3) The regulations may provide that a contravention of
specified provisions shall be an offence and may prescribe penalties
therefor not exceeding a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for 2
years and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not
exceeding $20,000 for each day during which the offence continues.

(4) The regulations may be expressed so as to apply to aircraft
in the service of the Crown and, if so expressed, they shall so apply.

10. (1) The regulations may regulate the conditions under
which noise and vibration may be caused by aircraft or aircraft
engines on aerodromes and may provide that subsection (2) shall
apply to any aerodrome in respect of which provision as to noise and
vibration caused by aircraft is so made.

(2) No action shall lie in respect of nuisance by reason only of
the noise and vibration caused by aircraft or aircraft engines on an
aerodrome to which this subsection applies by virtue of the regula-
tions, as long as the provisions of any such regulations are duly
complied with.

11. Nothing in this Ordinance shall apply to military aircraft.
Originally 33 of 1986. Short title and commencement. Interpretation. Prohibition on landing or taking off without a noise certificate. Exemptions. Requirements as to landing and take off. Restrictions on landing and take off. Directions to managers of airports. Enforcement of prohibitions as to take off. Power to make regulations. Nuisance caused by aircraft and aircraft engines on aerodromes. Exemption of military aircraft.

Originally 33 of 1986. Short title and commencement. Interpretation. Prohibition on landing or taking off without a noise certificate. Exemptions. Requirements as to landing and take off. Restrictions on landing and take off. Directions to managers of airports. Enforcement of prohibitions as to take off. Power to make regulations. Nuisance caused by aircraft and aircraft engines on aerodromes. Exemption of military aircraft.

https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/3184

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