The Airports Council International (ACI) has called for appropriate standards and practices for supersonic aircraft to properly address their potential impact on the environment and airport operations.

At the recent International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly, the global association of the world's airport authorities sounded caution with the reintroduction of supersonic aircraft, which may occur as early as 2023.

"ACI is concerned that manufacturers have not been able to yet present evidence that new supersonic aircraft will be able to meet the latest ICAO standards for their subsonic counterparts," it said in a statement.

Considering that there is strong pressure on airports to reduce their noise and emissions footprints, and generally reduce the impact of aviation on their communities, ACI said the re-introduction of supersonic aircraft should not undermine the efforts and achievements of the industry over the past decades.

In its "Reintroduction of Supersonics" paper, ACI called on the organization to develop noise and emissions Standards and Recommended Practices for supersonic aircraft.

According to ACI, these guidelines should promote the sustainable development of international aviation and recognize that the introduction of supersonic aircraft should not disrupt traffic flow of other aircraft, lead to loss of capacity, or reduce efficiency or environmental impact elsewhere in the system.

“Public acceptance of aviation rests on our ability to face the operational and environmental challenges currently posed by noise and emissions from subsonic aircraft. The introduction of supersonic aircraft must not destroy that acceptance,” ACI World director general Angela Gittens said.

“In order to be integrated into the commercial aviation ecosystem, supersonic aircraft must not be noisier than comparable subsonic aircraft of the same Maximum Take-Off Mass (MTOM) during their subsonic operations," she added.

The ACI director further said: “This is a matter which affects the entire aviation industry and it is essential for the development of Standards and Recommended Practices for supersonic aircraft to respond to the industry requirements while also addressing the potential impact on the community, the environment and airport operations."