Air traffic bans in response to the spread of the coronavirus have changed the sound situation of urban areas around airports. This study aimed to investigate the effect of this unprecedented event on the community response to noise before and after the international flight operation at Tan Son Nhat Airport (TSN) in March 2020. The "before" survey was conducted in August 2019, and the two "after" surveys were conducted in June and September 2020. Structural equation models (SEMs) for noise annoyance and insomnia were developed by linking the questionnaire items of the social surveys. The first effort aimed to achieve a common model of noise annoyance and insomnia, corresponding to the situation before and after the change, respectively. Approximately, 1200 responses were obtained from surveys conducted in 12 residential areas around TSN in 2019 and 2020. The average daily flight numbers observed in August 2019 during the two surveys conducted in 2020 were 728, 413, and 299, respectively. The sound pressure levels of the 12 sites around TSN decreased from 45-81 dB (mean = 64, SD = 9.8) in 2019 to 41-76 dB (mean = 60, SD = 9.8) and 41-73 dB (mean = 59, SD = 9.3) in June and September 2020, respectively. The SEM indicated that the residents' health was related to increased annoyance and insomnia.
Keywords: annoyance; community response; health risk; insomnia; noise impact; sleep effects; structural equation model.