Public consultation

PUBLIC CONSULTATION PURSUANT TO REGULATION (EU) No. 598/2014 LAYING DOWN THE RULES AND PROCEDURES WITH REGARD TO THE INTRODUCTION OF NOISE-RELATED OPERATING RESTRICTIONS AT AIRPORTS WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE RELEVANT IMPLEMENTING REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

This webpage is dedicated to the information provided in preparation for the public consultation of stakeholders regarding the noise impact of airport operations at Bologna “Guglielmo Marconi” Airport and the related noise management arrangements, both under the current scenario and under the projected future scenario. It is intended to serve as a useful and accessible interface for dialogue and public discussion with the relevant Stakeholders. In particular, Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi di Bologna S.p.A. (the “Airport Operator”) considers the public consultation process, conducted through digital and interactive means, to be a modern and effective participation tool enabling duly entitled Stakeholders to take part in the relevant procedure in this field in order, on the one hand, to provide data and information regarding the specific context and, on the other hand, to contribute further information, data, observations and any proposals for the attention of the Airport Operator, thereby ensuring transparency and open discussion overall.

The “Consultation Document”, accessible through this webpage, has been prepared by the Airport Operator in implementation of Regulation (EU) No. 598/2014 establishing rules and procedures with regard to the introduction of operating restrictions aimed at noise abatement at airports within the European Union, within the framework of the Balanced Approach, as well as of the additional legislative and regulatory provisions in force at national level. It has also taken into account the most recent guidance issued by ENAC, the national authority competent for the implementation of the aforementioned Regulation, with the objective of providing stakeholders with a comprehensive and updated information framework and encouraging useful contributions that may enable the Airport Operator to complete the analytical and study activities carried out to date in accordance with best practices, including international practices.

The commencement of the procedural process in question and the drafting of the Consultation Document originate, at Bologna Airport, from the exceedance—albeit limited and occurring within a low-population-density area located in the Municipality of Calderara di Reno—of the noise limits established by the airport noise zoning plan. This initiative forms part of a technical and regulatory process aimed at identifying measures capable of mitigating noise impacts, in compliance with the applicable legal framework and consistent with the airport’s environmental, economic and social sustainability objectives.

In this context, the analysis and proposal of measures to mitigate the noise impacts generated by aircraft operations must be conducted in accordance with the principles of the Balanced Approach, which require an integrated and comparative assessment of possible measures based on criteria of acoustic effectiveness, operational feasibility and sustainability. In accordance with these principles, the potential introduction of operating restrictions is regarded as a measure of last resort, to be considered only following a thorough and comparative evaluation of the available alternatives, as well as a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis.

The reference methodology, in line with the provisions of the aforementioned Regulation (EU) No. 598/2014, is intended to support a transparent, informed and proportionate decision-making process capable of identifying solutions that ensure the best overall balance between air traffic growth, the protection of the population and compliance with the applicable legal framework. In particular, the principle of cost-effectiveness requires the selection and implementation of measures capable of reducing noise impacts at the lowest economic cost for operators and the local area, thereby pursuing an appropriate balance between the protection of residents’ health while also avoiding adverse effects on the connectivity and efficiency of the European transport networks (TEN-T) and preventing distortions of competition throughout the European Union aviation market.

The Consultation Document also constitutes the informational basis for the Stakeholder consultation process, aimed at collecting observations and contributions useful for defining the final proposed intervention. Within the framework of the Consultation, interested parties are invited to submit their observations regarding the approaches proposed by the Airport Operator. At the end of the Consultation Period, observations and proposals will be assessed provided that they are relevant to the subject matter of the document, adequately substantiated, specifically refer to individual sections of the document (with precise indication of the relevant paragraphs), and are based on verifiable technical evidence.

Interested parties are invited to submit their observations and proposals in writing to the certified electronic mail address (PEC) consultazione_stakeholders@pec.bologna-airport.it by Wednesday 14 October 2026, in compliance with the applicable legislation on personal data protection.

The observations received may be published on the website of Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi di Bologna S.p.A. upon completion of the Consultation. The observations received may be published on the website of Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi di Bologna S.p.A. upon completion of the Consultation. Participants in the Consultation may request, for duly justified confidentiality reasons, that their comments be published anonymously. Participants in the Consultation who wish to safeguard the confidentiality or secrecy, in whole or in part, of the observations and/or documentation submitted are required to indicate which portions are to be considered confidential and may not be disclosed, identifying in specific appendices the parts intended to be excluded from publication. In such cases, the interested parties shall also submit, in electronic format, a version from which the confidential portions have been removed, for publication should the request for confidentiality be accepted. A general confidentiality statement included in the communications submitted shall not be regarded as a request for anonymous publication or for non-disclosure of the contributions provided. In the absence of requests to safeguard confidentiality or secrecy and/or where redacted versions are not submitted, the observations shall be published in their entirety.

The Italian-language version of this Consultation Document shall constitute the official and prevailing version. Any versions prepared in other languages are provided for information purposes only and, in the event of any discrepancy in interpretation, the Italian text shall prevail.