Problems of noise at airports have now been with us for over a quarter of a century and in many ways the situation seems to be more acute than ever before. The promise of new and better sited national airports has receded to such an extent that all that remains is a vague threat of the need to find a cheaper but less environmentally suitable site, and an exhortation to permit added traffic to operate from existing airports, even though the local communities have expressed their displeasure most forcefully. The introduction of the Concorde, unlikely as it is to always meet the old noise rules, let alone the new ones, makes a mockery of those operators who are willing and have striven to accept a policy of progressive reductions of noise limits, and the present governmental tardiness to proceed with plans for retrofit will add to this unwillingness.