Government’s plans on Heathrow night flights have been slammed by campaigners in Berkshire

Campaigners against Heathrow noise, in Berkshire, have sharply criticised the proposals by the DfT (published on 12th January) to make no effective cuts in the airport’s night noise. Local group RAAN (Residents Against Aircraft Noise) say members of the public will be extremely disappointed with the plans. Murray Barter, chairman of RAAN said:  “If the government are serious on ending night flights, this is the first test of their sincerity in doing so.  The elephants in the room are the many ‘unscheduled’ night departures that overrun past their scheduled departures which are allowed to continue seemingly unabated and unrestricted throughout the night. … the ‘night’ period is curtailed to six and a half hours, which is against the World Health Organisation guidelines of eight hours. … Nothing within this consultation or regarding Heathrow expansion will alter this for the better.”  A carefully worded statement by the minister, Lord Ahmad, attempts to conceal the fact that the plans will do almost nothing to reduce the noise. There are no proposals for anything other than “business as usual”.  There are no improvements planned for future years – other than changes that might, or might not, happen with a new runway.  
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The government’s plans to cut noise at Heathrow overnight have been slammed by campaigners

Campaigners have criticised the government’s new proposals.

18.1.2017
By Ben Smith, (Reporter – Local Berkshire)

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PLANS to cut noise from night flights at Heathrow will make little difference residents’ lives, campaigners have warned.

A public consultation was launched on Thursday, January 12 setting out the government’s new measures, which would see the cuts achieved through the use of quieter aircraft.

But activists Residents Against Aircraft Noise (RAAN) believe members of the public will be extremely disappointed with the plans, citing they will make minimal difference to noise levels.

“If the government are serious on ending night flights, this is the first test of their sincerity in doing so,” said Murray Barter, chairman of RAAN.

“The elephants in the room are the many ‘unscheduled’ night departures that overrun past their scheduled departures which are allowed to continue seemingly unabated and unrestricted throughout the night.

“From real world noise measurement the ‘new generation’ of Airbus A380 that is supposed to be replacing the older generation Boeing 747 is actually louder, not quieter than the 747.

“Also, the ‘night’ period is curtailed to six and a half hours, which is against the World Health  Organisation guidelines of eight hours.

“Nothing within this consultation or regarding Heathrow expansion will alter this for the better.”

 

Current night flight restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted expire in October, with the new regulations lasting until 2022.

Airport chiefs believe the strict cap placed on night flights would reduce the total noise quota at Heathrow by at least 43 per cent in the winter and 50 per cent in the summer.

Aviation minister Lord Ahmad said the government is committed to tackling the issue of aircraft noise, especially at night, which can be a blight for people living nearby to airports.

“Night flights are, however, important to the economy,” he said. “By creating extra choice for passenger and moving freight, and we need to carefully balance the needs of communities.

“That’s why we are encouraging the use of quieter aircraft by brining in tighter noise quotas at the airports and setting strict caps on aircraft movements at night.”  [This is just a carefully worded statement by the Minister, deliberately saying nothing. What he is avoiding saying is that the introduction of marginally less noisy planes is happening anyway; they are required by a number of airports; the quota count limits have been reduced – but only to the level of current use; the quota counts had been set several years back and were much higher than current usage; therefore no changes of any sort, other than “business as usual” have been proposed. Residents will see NO benefit in the short term, and there are no improvements planned for future years – other than changes that might, or might not, happen with a new runway.  AirportWatch comment] 

The consultation will run until Tuesday, February 28, after which responses will be reviewed and a final decision on night flights published.

Any ban on night flights at an expanded Heathrow would be consulted on separately.

http://www.localberkshire.co.uk/news/15031360.Quiet_night_flying_scheme_attacked/

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See also:

 

Government misses opportunity to reduce night flights at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted

Comment by the AEF (Aviation Environment Federation)

The Government has published its proposals for changes to the night flights regime for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, the only three airports in the UK at which the Government imposes noise controls. The Government sets caps on the number of aircraft movements and on the total permitted ‘quota count’ (QC) both of which can act to limit night noise.

Under the quota count system, each aircraft is given a score based on its noise performance, and the total amount of noise in a given period is capped, so more flights may be possible if airlines use less noisy aircraft. Currently all three airports use well below their permitted ‘quota counts’, with the exception of Stansted which has crept closer and closer to the limit in recent years. While the latest proposals would reduce the quota count limits for Heathrow and Stansted compared to current limits, the new limits would largely take up the existing slack in the system rather than driving down future noise. For Stansted, the Government proposes no change to the existing noise quotas.

For movement limits, the proposals are to retain, rather than reduce, the permitted number of flights at Heathrow and Gatwick, and to increase them at Stansted. The justification given is that the parallel proposal of a reduction in the noise threshold at which aircraft are covered by the regime, which will reduce the number of exempt aircraft, means that an increased number of movements needs to be permitted for Stansted in order to achieve an effective flatline. More significantly, the Government says it does not wish to prejudge the outcome of Stansted’s anticipated application for planning permission to increase passenger numbers by imposing noise controls that would prevent this.

AEF reaction

We are deeply disappointed by the Government’s lack of ambition to get to grips with the night noise problem at London airports. Our members often tell us that the number of overflying aircraft they experience at night is a real problem, regardless of the marginal improvements in the noise performance of individual aircraft that have taken place over time. A growing body of evidence indicates that night noise has harmful effects not only in terms of annoyance but also increased risk of cardiovascular disease, strokes and heart attacks. Noise at airports around the UK remains persistently above the maximum levels recommended for health by the World Health Organisation. The Government has also retained its definition of the operational night noise period as 6.5 hours, 90 minutes less than the standard definition used by the WHO.

We are also disappointed that the long-overdue study that the Government has been undertaking in relation to possible changes in the public experience of noise annoyance, and which we had hoped to be able to consider alongside this proposal, has still not been published. Research over the past decade from a number of countries indicates a significant decrease in the noise threshold at which people report disturbance, with Defra having found in recent years that as many as 1 in 3 people in the UK are disturbed or annoyed by aircraft noise. The proposals published today appear designed largely to reset noise limits to match current levels: a policy that falls a long way short of the action required to tackle this problem.

Industry demands take precedence over public health

We are particularly concerned that the Government appears unwilling to prioritise action to protect public health over the incessant demand for growth from the aviation industry. The limits set for Stansted have been explicitly designed not to ‘pre-empt’ any possible application by the airport for permission to grow its passenger numbers.

In relation to Heathrow, as the proposed regime ends in 2022, it can offer no comfort that an expanded Heathrow will not bring further noise misery. Heathrow Airport itself last year offered the sweetener that if given planning permission to expand, it could provide a 6.5 hour night flight ban even before the runway became operational , suggesting that a ban could be deliverable now without crippling the airport, if only the Government had the will to impose it.

http://www.aef.org.uk/2017/01/13/government-misses-opportunity-to-reduce-night-flights-at-heathrow-gatwick-or-stansted/

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