HC Deb 01 December 1967 vol 755 cc194-5W
Mr. Whitaker

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in the interests of diminishing air noise and in order that the travelling public may if they so wish discriminate in favour of the aircraft that are quietest, he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table of the relative noise levels of current types of passenger aircraft when in flight and landing.

Mr. J. P. W. Mallalieu

As regards present day jet aircraft of a given size, there is little to choose between particular aircraft types in terms of average noisiness as heard on the ground, but smaller jet aircraft are somewhat quieter than larger ones. For a given journey, the types of aircraft used would normally be of similar size; I therefore doubt whether the discrimination by passengers which my hon. Friend has in mind is practicable. Propeller aircraft are quieter than jets, but the latter have compensating advantages to the passenger in terms of speed and comfort.