Where do planes fly past overhead? Determining departure and arrival routes from radar traces

This paper questions the main techniques of mapping in the context of aircraft noise in the vicinity of airports, and compares these techniques in terms of their purpose, benefits and limitations. Then the paper describes a method to summarise radar traces of a given air transport departure or arrival route into a median route and its envelope containing 80% of flights. This makes it possible to map global and easy-to-read maps of current air procedures around airports based on actual pathways flown by the aircraft. It also makes it possible to investigate the impact of change in aeronautical procedures on the actual geography of air routes around airports. Such maps complement noise contour maps and offer a good basis for debating aeronautical procedures at airports whose operations expose the population to noise.SCOPUS: ar.j