New flight paths for Heathrow will bring jets’ roar to millions
new flight paths that will allow 60,000 more aircraft a year to use Heathrow’s
existing runways.
affect people living up to 30 miles (48km) from the airport.
runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow, to open by 2020. But ministers are also
preparing to authorise more intensive use of the airport’s existing runways.
paths of approaching aircraft.
two runways are used for both take-offs and landings. At the moment one runway
is used for landings and the other for take-offs, with the roles switched each
day at 3pm to give residents half a day’s respite from the worst noise.
points, meaning there will be winners and losers in terms of noise.
within earshot, but millions of people in outer London and the Home Counties will
either be exposed to aircraft noise for the first time or find many more aircraft
flying directly overhead. The main losers will be those living close to the new
turning points, which will be over Reading to the west and Dartford and Woolwich
to the east.
Barking, Rainham, Ilford, Leytonstone, Walthamstow, Barnet, Carshalton and Beckenham.
People in Hampstead, Highgate, Islington, Hackney, Mile End, Stratford, Harrow,
Ruislip and Henley will no longer hear any Heathrow-bound air traffic.
published in November 2007, that so many people would experience a significant
change in aircraft noise. It is possible to work out the changes only by comparing
two small-scale maps on pages 53 and 78 of the document.
flights would require "major airspace changes". The report, by National Air Traffic
Services, says that the changes to Heathrow’s flight paths would be so extensive
that aircraft departing from Gatwick would have to be rerouted.
paths, accused the Government of expanding the airport by by stealth. "The Department
for Transport [DfT] has buried the bad news about new flight paths which will
disturb millions of people living in outer London and the Home Counties," he said.
years ago, but it is being done by stealth. Most people who will be affected
have no idea what is in store for them.
a technical change."
impact on many people who are not exposed to much aircraft noise at present. We
need a better Heathrow, not a bigger Heathrow."
goes ahead, an expert has warned. Weeks before the government decides on a 3rd
runway at Heathrow, campaigners claimed they discovered ‘hidden’ evidence that
the number of flights going over areas including Beckenham, Dartford and Croydon
could be a third higher than expected. Planes could be flying over Beckenham every
5 minutes.(Bromley Times)