The Airport Operators Association (AOA), the body representing UK airports, has expressed a mixed response to a new international standard to limit aircraft noise. While the standard was welcomed as a step in the right direction, there was disappointment that it fell short of the more stringent target advocated by the AOA. At a meeting organised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Montreal, a new noise standard was agreed which is ten decibels lower than the current Chapter 3 standards. The standard will be effective from 1 January, 2006.