The Lufthansa Group’s environmental experts regularly exchange information at the Environmental Forum, for example on active noise protection. Research for quieter flying The Lufthansa Group has been active in noise research since 1999. The goal is to continuously make air traffic more quiet – also by measures applied to aircraft in the existing fleet (such as vortex generators). To achieve this complex and demanding task, the aviation company closely coop- erates with partners in industry, administra- tions, universities and research institutions. For example, the Lufthansa Group heads up the aviation research program that is part of the MODAL project (Models and Data for the Development of Active Noise Protection Measures in Aviation) of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology. This research project primarily serves to better understand the noise emissions of different types of aircraft. Furthermore, the participating experts intend to improve the assessment of active noise protection measures by means of more accurate calculations. In the context of MODAL, further flyover measurements with two Lufthansa Cargo Boeing MD-11Fs took place in late June 2015 at Magdeburg- Cochstedt Airport to test noise-reducing modifications to engines and landing gear. Moreover, the Lufthansa Group supports the noise effect study NORAH (Noise- Related Annoyance, Cognition and Health). This research, designed with a broad scope and based on scientific methods, examines the effects of noise from air, rail and road traffic on cognitive abilities, health and quality of life for people living in areas affected by such noise. Initial results were presented in November 2014. The full NORAH report will be published in the second half of 2015. Ever fewer people affected by aircraft noise For many people, flying has long since become a matter of course. For example, passenger numbers at German airports nearly tripled between 1991 and 2014 to 208 million per year. By contrast, according to new noise maps produced by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, the number of people affected by aircraft noise in Germany declined from 746,500 in 2007 to 738,000 in 2012. And that even though the Ministry added data from two more airports in comparison to the first measure- ments made in 2007. Information such as this and further comprehensive explanations of the aviation industry’s commitment to noise protection have been available since July 2014 on the new aircraft noise portal of the German Aviation Association (BDL). www.fluglaerm-portal.de 56 // Climate and Environmental Responsibility