"Good neighbors keep their noise to themselves."

In 1990, the Airport Noise and Capacity Act was passed by Congress. The act requires all commercial airlines to convert their fleets from Stage 2 to Stage 3 noise certification levels, a quieter plane, by the year 2000. The act hopes to reduce noise surrounding airports, however, it is estimated that domestic passenger airtraffic will double in the next 20 years, increasing the number of flights (see growth in enplanements and growth in airports). This growth will more than eliminate any progress made by the quieter technology. The first table is the schedule that airlines must meet during the conversion. The second table includes the actual percentages of stage 3 planes that airlines have integrated into their fleets as of 1995.

Schedule of Phase-Out and Phase-In Alternatives

Compliance Date	Phase-Out Schedule Maximum percentage of base-level Stage 2 aircraft	Phase-In Schedule Minimum percentage of Stage 3 aircraft
December 31, 1994	75%	55%
December 31, 1996	50%	65%
December 31, 1998	25%	75%
December 31, 1999	0%	100%

Percentage of Stage 3 Aircraft in the Fleets of Both Major Passenger Carriers and Cargo Carriers

Passenger Carriers	Percentage of Stage 3 Aircraft
America West	78%
Southwest	78%
American Airlines	75%
United	70%
USAir	73%
Delta	65%
Continental	65%
Northwest	50%
TWA	47%
Cargo Carriers
UPS	97%
Federal Express	58%
Emery	51.5%

Information from "Flying Off Course: Environmental Impacts of America's Airports" by the Natural Resources Defense Council, October 1996.