City Airport wants to press ahead with controversial flight changes despite only 3% support in recent consultation
Date added: 16 February, 2015
London City Airport wants to press ahead with controversial plans to concentrate flight paths despite only 3% of people backing them in the recent consultation. Its consultation ended in November 2014, and the airport produced a report report on the consultation on 13th February. The report now goes to the CAA for approval. London City Airport’s consultation was widely criticized in 2014. The airport had refused to leaflet or hold meetings in the areas that would be worst affected by the new concentrated flight paths. It justified its minimal consultation on the grounds that the changes it was proposing were not significant. Despite criticism from MPs, local authorities, residents’ groups and members of the Greater London Authority, London City has defended its consultation in its report to the CAA. It is also refusing to withdraw or modify its original plans. Residents’ organisation HACAN East, which coordinated much of the opposition to the changes, believes the airport has been typically arrogant and unresponsive – and not given any consideration to the possibility of respite for various areas, at different times of day. London City Airport expresses very little concern for its neighbouring communities. HACAN East say the fight by residents will continue, and they will be pressing the CAA to order the airport to carry out a fresh consultation. . Tweet
City Airport wants to press ahead with controversial flight changes despite only 3% support in recent consultation
15.2.2015 (HACAN East)
London City Airport wants to press ahead with controversial plans to concentrate flight paths despite only 3% of people backing them in the recent consultation.
Stakeholder responses:
452 (90%) object 38 (7%) no objeciton, no comment 14 (3%) support
The opposition to the proposals emerged in a report on the consultation which the airport released late on Friday 13th Feb afternoon. The report now goes to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for approval.
London City’s consultation was widely criticized at the end of last year. It refused to leaflet or hold meetings in the areas that would be worst affected by the new flight paths. It justified its minimal consultation on the grounds that the changes it was proposing were not significant. Despite criticism from MPs, local authorities, residents’ groups and members of the Greater London Authority, London City has defended its consultation in its report to the CAA. It is also refusing to withdraw or modify its original plans.
Residents’ organisation HACAN East, which coordinated much of the opposition to the changes, has made clear the fight is not over yet.
HACAN East chair John Stewart said, “This latest report shows City Airport to be as unresponsive and arrogant as ever. The fight will continue. The campaign will now be pressing the CAA to order the airport to carry out a fresh consultation.”
Stewart added, “Our parent body, HACAN, works closely with Heathrow Airport. The contrast with City could not be starker. Heathrow has promised it will not concentrate all its flights over certain communities and is committed to full consultation on any changes that take place. London City, by contrast, is a fourth division outfit with little concern for the neighbouring community.”
City Airport wants to concentrate both flights which are landing and taking off. Among the worst affected areas will be parts of Leyton, Leytonstone, Wanstead, Collier Row and Havering in East London and Eltham, Catford, Dulwich, Brixton, Stockwell and Vauxhall in South London.
The campaigners accept there may need to be some concentration but are calling on the airport to vary the routes over the course of a day to give residents some respite as Heathrow is planning to do with its flight paths
Whatever the CAA decides, no changes to London City’s flight paths will be implemented before the end of this year.
“The London City Airport proposal sought to replicate the existing conventional flight paths with equivalent RNAV routes. The concept is not optional – a legal mandate is being introduced by the Civil Aviation Authority which will require all aircraft to be equipped to navigate using RNAV by November 2017, and a mandate for the airspace to provide RNAV routes is expected to be effective by winter 2019.
“The proposed changes are key to achieving network efficiency and reducing delays in the south and are an important part of the London Airspace Management Programme (LAMP), NATS’ wider programme to modernise the air route system over London and the south east.”
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Other recent news stories from Hacan East:
Waltham Forest Committee highly critical of City Airport
12.2.2015
Waltham Forest’s Neighbourhood Scrutiny Committee were so frustrated at London City Airport’s repeated refusal to send anybody to the Committee that at last night’s meeting they replaced City Airport with a fluffy toy.
The Committee resolved to:
1. Mount a strong communications campaign re: both the proposal by City Airport to concentrate its flight paths and City’s application for expansion just agreed by Newham but still to be signed off by the Mayor of London’s office.
2. Use the ward forums to make councillors aware of the issues
3. Ask to meet with the Civil Aviation Authority about the flight paths consultation. The CAA will be assessing City Airports much-criticised recent consultation into the recent flight path changes and, if not satisfied with the consultation process, has the power to require them to re-consult.
4. Link up with the GLA and the London Councils where they can.
The Committee thanked HACAN East for their work in bringing the issues into the public eye. And gave the campaign group a round of applause.
London City Airport expansion plan gets go-ahead but campaigners say it will create ‘noise ghettos and misery’
February 4, 2015
Newham Council has granted planning approval London City Airport’s plans for an extended terminal, a new taxi-way and additional parking stands for larger aircraft. A new six-storey four-star hotel with up to 260 bedrooms will also be built on site. The expansion will increase the number of take-offs and landings at the airport from 70,000 a year to 111,000 and will almost double the number of passengers to 6 million a year by 2023. The number of aircraft stands will increase from 18 to 25, and the newer, larger planes they will accommodate will expand the airport’s reach from destinations in western Europe to Russia and North Africa. It has been described as a boost for London’s aviation capacity, while the arguments for and against a new runway at Heathrow or Gatwick (or neither) continue. There are claims for a large number of jobs, and Newham believes many will be for their residents – and there are claims of huge economic benefit for the local and UK economy. The expansion involves the tripling of the size of the terminal to 51,800 ft square and will see the number of flights increase from 38 to 45 during peak morning and evening rush hour times. Building work, subject to final planning approval being given by Boris, is expected to start by the end of 2015, with the first new aircraft seen on the runway in 2016.
