For the purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

Agreement means a document in writing signed by the airport operator; those aircraft operators currently operating at the airport that would be affected by the noise or access restriction; and all affected new entrants planning to provide new air service within 180 days of the effective date of the restriction that have submitted to the airport operator a plan of operations and notice of agreement to the restriction.

Aircraft operator, for purposes of this part, means any owner of an aircraft that operates the aircraft, i.e., uses, causes to use, or authorizes the use of the aircraft; or in the case of a leased aircraft, any lessee that operates the aircraft pursuant to a lease. As used in this part, aircraft operator also means any representative of the aircraft owner, or in the case of a leased aircraft, any representative of the lessee empowered to enter into agreements with the airport operator regarding use of the airport by an aircraft.

Airport means any area of land or water, including any heliport, that is used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, and any appurtenant areas that are used or intended to be used for airport buildings or other airport facilities or rights-of-way, together with all airport buildings and facilities located thereon.

Airport noise study area means that area surrounding the airport within the noise contour selected by the applicant for study and must include the noise contours required to be developed for noise exposure maps specified in 14 CFR part 150.

Airport operator means the airport proprietor.

Aviation user class means the following categories of aircraft operators: air carriers operating under parts 121 or 129 of this chapter; commuters and other carriers operating under part 135 of this chapter; general aviation, military, or government operations.

Day-night average sound level (DNL) means the 24-hour average sound level, in decibels, for the period from midnight to midnight, obtained after the addition of ten decibels to sound levels for the periods between midnight and 7 a.m., and between 10 p.m. and midnight, local time, as defined in 14 CFR part 150. (The scientific notation for DNL is Ldn).

Noise or access restrictions means restrictions (including but not limited to provisions of ordinances and leases) affecting access or noise that affect the operations of Stage 2 or Stage 3 aircraft, such as limits on the noise generated on either a single-event or cumulative basis; a limit, direct or indirect, on the total number of Stage 2 or Stage 3 aircraft operations; a noise budget or noise allocation program that includes Stage 2 or Stage 3 aircraft; a restriction imposing limits on hours of operations; a program of airport-use charges that has the direct or indirect effect of controlling airport noise; and any other limit on Stage 2 or Stage 3 aircraft that has the effect of controlling airport noise. This definition does not include peak-period pricing programs where the objective is to align the number of aircraft operations with airport capacity.

Stage 2 aircraft means an aircraft that has been shown to comply with the Stage 2 requirements under 14 CFR part 36.

Stage 3 aircraft means an aircraft that has been shown to comply with the Stage 3 requirements under 14 CFR part 36.

[Doc. No. 26432, 56 FR 48698, Sept. 25, 1991, as amended by Amdt. 161-2, 66 FR 21067, Apr. 27, 2001]