Edinburgh Airport’s new TUTUR flight path trial started 25th June – maybe for 6 months
The trial of a new flight path to the west of Edinburgh airport started on 25th June. The airport itself does not say how long the trial with last, but reports say either 5 months or 6 months. The trial sees southbound planes take off over Broxburn and Uphall before turning east over the Forth, then south over East Lothian. The aim of the trial is to speed up departures, increase the number of planes than can be handled, and make more money for airlines and the airport. Edinburgh airport says if the trial is a “success,” [a success may mean if the level of opposition is low enough, or can be discounted] it could cut the minimum interval between take-offs from two minutes to one minute, doubling the potential number of flights by large planes from the airport. That could mean increasing the total number of flights by 20% to around 120,000 per year. People finding themselves under the new, narrow, route are experiencing much worse plane noise than before – especially as much of the new flight path is on a turn. People are encouraged to contact the airport and make complaints, if they are not happy with the new situation. Edinburgh airport says: “If the trial is successful it will continue for a bit longer” (ie. no end date?) going through the formal Airspace Change Process by the CAA. Once that is done, the route will be permanent – after a public consultation and the statutory change process.
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The map below from Edinburgh Airport shows the three existing routes for westerly take-offs, and the proposed new route to be trialled, “TUTUR” shown in red.
http://sid.edinburghairport.com/
The Edinburgh FAQ page on the trial http://sid.edinburghairport.com/faqs
Edinburgh says: ” for the trial of this new route we’re installing noise monitors at various points along the route to measure the amount of noise that may be created by aircraft using it.”.
Complaints:
Anyone wanting to complain about a particular flight needs to contact 0800 731 3397 (freephone 24/7). “All callers will be asked to leave their name and contact information, along with details of the date and time of any disturbance. All calls are recorded and complaints investigated. The airport aims to contact each individual caller within two working days. They will be provided with either an answer to their enquiry or will be told how long they can expect to wait for a full response.”
Edinburgh Airport’s new flight path trial starts
The six-month trial will see southbound planes take off over Broxburn and Uphall before turning east over the Forth, then south over East Lothian.
26.6.2015 (Scotsman)
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IT is a change of direction that could see departure times for city flights cut in half and bring the Capital’s airport into the 21st century.
A six-month trial of a new take-off route for flights leaving Edinburgh started yesterday, with all ears on the reaction of local communities it passes over.
If the trial is a success it could cut the minimum interval between take-offs from two minutes to one minute, doubling the potential number of flights by large planes from the hub and increasing the total number of flights in and out of the Capital by 20 per cent to around 120,000 every year.
As well as extensive consultation the airport has installed noise monitors along the new route, which will see southbound planes take off over Broxburn and Uphall, before turning east over the Forth, then south over East Lothian – by which point they should hit a minimum height of 13,000ft.
And after the first day there seemed to be little concern from affected residents – although the airport admitted it was expecting a mixed reaction in early days.
Fraser Graham, treasurer of the Uphall Community Council, said they had not been spoken to by the airport ahead of the trial, but admitted that it was too early to tell what the change would mean for people.
“There’s not been a lot of concern locally, but we will keep an eye on it.
“I have noticed a slight increase in the volume of flights going over the area today but it hasn’t been exactly awful – I must confess I thought it had started last week as we’ve seen the lights of a few more planes overhead, but today has been a noticeable increase.”
Edinburgh Airport is Scotland’s busiest airport, with more than 40 airlines serving 100-plus destinations and over 10 million passengers passed through the airport in 2014 – the busiest year ever for a
Scottish airport.
And that means increasing the number of flights could provide another step up.
Martyn Day, the MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk, said he had not had any feedback from local residents and admitted it was case of waiting to see what happened.
“I’m aware the trial has now started and Edinburgh Airport was very upfront and said some residents had expressed concerns, but we will need to see how it goes.
“It is not a great deal of extra noise, as I understand it, but it is a very rural area where any extra noise will be quite noticeable, so it will be difficult to tell what people will think.
“If it goes well then I suppose it’s good news for everyone and if not then at least there is this period to review complaints and look for an alternative.”
David Wilson, chief operating officer of Edinburgh Airport, said: “A trial like this is of vital importance as aircraft currently flying above Scotland are on a network designed in the late 1970s. We’re aiming to upgrade the airspace around Edinburgh Airport, bringing it into the 21st century.
“Not only will this help alleviate pressure on the three existing westerly departure routes, it means we can efficiently manage the continual demand for air travel.”
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The Edinburgh Airport FAQ page does not give a duration for the trial, or any end date. But it states:
| Q: | What happens when the trial finishes? |
| A: | If the trial is successful it will continue for a bit longer while Edinburgh Airport follows the formal Airspace Change Process issued by the CAA. Once the Airspace Change Process is complete the new route will no longer be in its trial phase and will form one of the official departure routes from Edinburgh Airport.If the new route trial has been a success and Edinburgh Airport intends to make this a permanent route, a full community consultation and statutory change process will be followed to allow local residents and our neighbours to voice their opinion. |
Earlier:
Edinburgh Airport unveils 5 month trial of flight path to boost the airport’s capacity
Edinburgh Airport has unveiled details of a 5-month trial of a new flight path for aircraft taking off to the west, in a bid to increase capacity. The Airspace Trial, which will begin on 25 June, will introduce a new SID route, the purpose of which is to allow more flights to use the runway, and allow aircraft to take off at one-minute intervals. This is to “allow the airport to maintain safe and sustainable growth without affecting punctuality.” Most of the time the flights take off to the west and there are currently 3 SID routes – known as Grice (which goes north), Gosam (which goes south west) and Talla (south). The new route – Tutur – will see aircraft take off in a south westerly direction and turn right towards the River Forth, passing over West Lothian and to the east of Linlithgow. The settlements worse affected, with planes at 1900 – 2000 feet, would be Uphall and Dechmont. Map Aircraft will climb as they turn, to fly over the coast and down the Firth of Forth passing North Queensferry, and then fly back over land at approximately 13,000ft near Musselburgh. The airport says the aircraft using the trial route are likely to be their least noisy (B737s, A319, A320, A321, 787 and A330s). The airport says the trial would monitor the impact on local communities, and noise monitors would be placed along the flight path to collect data on the flights.
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Some of the comments below the 26.6.2015 article:
Lots of aircraft noise in South Queensferry from new flight path – all through the night. Ed airport estimates noise level the same as “a vacuum cleaner at 1 metre” away.
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I live in Broxburn. Was out in working in the garden today and was “just” aware of the noise of a couple of planes in the new flightpath. Doesn’t sound any louder than the noise from the original flight path and can’t say I have heard it when I’m in the house.
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If you are interested in seeing how this is going why not send someone out. Planes already not following the flight path and flying directly over Uphall – this is not the test route as advertised by Edinburgh Airport.
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the article mentions extensive consultation. Who did they consult with as the representative from Uphall says there had been no consultation. I asked for feedback in April from Edinburgh Airport and had no response even when I went on their Twitter account to follow up my comment left on their microsite. I have left more feedback today so will see if this gets ignored too. It has been constant this morning – noise levels increased substantially. An absolute joke!
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From what I can see the planes aren’t following the flightpath either….much to close to the village compared to what is on the map produced by Edinburgh Airport
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Lying in bed planes flying out approx every 2mins from 06.40—–07.15 about 12 flights wow
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Incidentally, they obviously can`t cope with the amount of traffic they currently have at present as they have demonstrated this week, so just think of the even bigger chaos that will ensue if they do get more flights.