Night Flights Could Double Fear

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as BAA plans contain no proposals to reduce disturbance

A noise plan drawn up by BAA for Heathrow following an EU directive contains no proposals for reducing disturbance from night flights. The EU regulations say that airport schemes should consider specific action where the current noise impact is unacceptable – including at night.

Wandsworth Council is now calling on the transport secretary to reject BAA’s plan and instead bring forward plans for cutting back on arrivals before 6am.

It also wants new controls for the one-hour period from 6am to 7am which is expected to see an increase in take-offs as the airport switches to more long haul routes.

There are also fears that changes in airport operations could lead to more departures between 11.30pm and midnight.

The biggest increase in night flights is expected to come from the replacement of Boeing 747 aircraft with the 777 and the A380. Under the current quota system at least twice as many night flights would be permitted once the 747s had been phased out.

Council leader Edward Lister said, ‘The BAA plan fails in its central duty to reduce noise for the communities around  the airport.

‘There are also no proposals for protecting quiet areas like Richmond Park which is a key requirement of the regulations.

‘And even though it is increasingly unlikely that the third runway will ever be built, it is astonishing that BAA make no attempt to assess the noise impact from such a major expansion.

‘The Government’s stated policy is to do everything practicable to improve the noise climate at Heathrow. The transport secretary has no alternative but to reject a plan which fails to meet either his own objectives or the requirements of the EU legislation.’

The night quota period runs from 11.30pm to 6am. Currently around 16 flights land at Heathrow between these hours - with the first of them coming in at about 4.30am. The council and fellow members of the 2M Group proposed to Heathrow expansion have long campaigned for these to be phased out.

The current night flight quotas must be reviewed in time for 2012. The European Noise Directive requires Member States to draw up arrangements for noise action plans at major airports. The UK Government has delegated responsibility to the airport operators who must submit their schemes to the Secretary of State for Transport by the end of November.

BAA is now consulting on its action plan with a closing date of October 5. Councillors will consider their response at the Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on September 23.

The 2M Group is an all-party alliance of 24 local authorities  concerned at the environmental impact of Heathrow expansion on their communities. The group represents more than 5 million people.

The full membership comprises the London Boroughs of Brent, Camden, Ealing, Greenwich, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Reading, Richmond, Sutton, Southwark and Wandsworth, the boroughs of Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wycombe and South Bucks District Council

 

Find out more at www.2MGroup.org.uk

 

October 5, 2009