Noise News
Below are links to stories about noise in relation to airports and aviation.
Schiphol airport in Amsterdam limits flights to prevent emissions, in world first
The Dutch government has announced that the number of flights arriving at Schiphol airport will be capped to bring down carbon emissions. Schiphol, the third largest airport in Europe after Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle, will be limited to 440,000 flights a year from 2023. That is an 11% reduction from the airport's pre-pandemic numbers in 2019 - and most importantly, it is a first in terms of putting climate before economic growth. The Dutch government, a majority stakeholder in Schiphol, says the change will bring down both noise and nitrogen oxide pollution (NOx). By limiting air traffic at one of Europe’s major airports the Dutch government is taking a major step to tackle air travel, which is one of the most polluting sectors. The aviation industry is not happy about it, and want instead to persist with the myth of being "net zero by 2050" (which is uncertain, too little, too late). A pro-aviation body ACI Europe "warned against governments caving in to ‘climate populism’." The decision was welcomed by Greenpeace, which has been campaigning to reduce flights at Schiphol for years.
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DfT and BEIS backing drone routes, delivering packages – sometimes medicines or post
The DfT and BEIS have announced (at the Farnborough air show) government and industry funding for a range of aviation-related projects. The aim is partly to reduce the carbon emissions of some sorts of flights; also to boost the UK in global competition; and to create tech jobs in the UK. One of the ambitions is for the UK to have the "world's largest automated drone superhighway within the next 2 years." Skyway aims to connect Reading, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Coventry and Rugby, by drone "superhighway" routes, by mid-2024, and will receive more than £12m. There are also plans for links to Scottish islands and the Scilly Isles. Trials have been taking place over the past few years, and some items to be carried by the drones might be medications and post. The technology utilises ground-based sensors installed along the highway which provide a real-time view of where drones are in the airspace. There will be safety concerns, and probably noise concerns along the routes, which are not yet established. It is thought that people accept noise intrusion better, if they know the noise is being emitted for a justifiable reason.
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Delayed Heathrow flights making sleep ‘impossible’ for surrounding areas
Residents living under Heathrow’s flight paths are being kept awake until after midnight by an increase in late arriving and departing night flights due to disruption across the aviation sector. Planes are being allowed to arrive and depart later than planned. In theory, Heathrow has no scheduled departures between 10.50pm and 6am, or scheduled arrivals between 10.55pm and 4.40am, but take-offs and landings occur within those periods - especially if planes are delayed. Flight punctuality has plummeted in recent months as airlines and airports have been unable to cope, due to lack of staff. Overflown residents are given little respite, with flights at 12.30am and then at 4.33am. There are the inevitable problems of those wanting planes to climb faster, so at higher altitude over many suburbs - but meaning more noise for those nearer the airport. People across a very wide area are being negatively affected by the night noise, which means that local communities are facing greater disturbance. The industry has no intention of reducing night flights. For decent health, adults need 7 hours of sleep each night - or more.
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London City Airport consultation on plans to increase passenger numbers from 6.5 million to 9 million per year
London City Airport has a consultation (ends 9th September) about further expansion. It wants to increase passenger numbers from 6.5 million to 9 million per year. It wants to end the ban on flights on Saturday afternoon and evening; and operate more flights during the first hour of operation after 6.30am, and also in the late evening. The annual cap on the number of flights permitted will remain at 111,000. Earlier proposals to raise it to 151,000 have been dropped. The 8 hour night period with no flights will also remain in place. The airport will stipulate that only the "cleaner, quieter " planes (ie. in theory, slightly lower carbon emissions, and slightly less noisy) can fly during the additional hours of operation. Hacan East says these planes will be noticeably quieter but only on departure and only within about 4 miles from the airport. The difference is negligible elsewhere. There will be "more flexibility" (ie. allowing later flights) for delayed departures and arrivals in the last half hour of operations each day (10pm – 10.30pm) – they are currently limited to 400 per year. There will be larger planes (ie. noisier), to increase the annual number of passengers (most are now leisure).
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Schiphol flights to be limited to 11% below 2019 levels to cut noise
After pressure from communities in the Netherlands, the Dutch Parliament has said Schiphol must reduce its flights from 500,000 a year to a maximum of 440,000 by 2023 in order to cut the noise experienced by impacted communities. That cut is 11% less than in 2019 (about 510,000). It is understand from the Dutch aviation campaigners that the mix in the current Dutch Parliament helped. The Netherlands has proportional representation and enough small parties backed the proposals to get it agreed. The decision follows a move by Schiphol itself, in which the Dutch state is the majority shareholder, to impose a cap on the number passengers it can carry this summer - although that was due to staffing shortages. Part of the reason is awareness fo the carbon emissions. Airlines, predictably, are not happy. Greenpeace, which had lobbied for traffic at Schiphol to be reduced, hailed the decision as a "historic breakthrough". This might be the first time a major airport has been asked to reduce flight numbers.
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New review of cerebral consequences of environmental noise exposure – including plane noise
A group of scientists, mainly in Germany, have done further studies on the impact of noise on health. This includes aircraft noise, as well as noise from roads, railways, wind turbines and general background noise. They say there has been more research on cardiovascular impacts, but little on brain and "associated neuropsychiatric outcomes." These impacts include depression, anxiety, cognitive decline and risk of strokes. As with the impacts on the cardiovascular system, the mechanism of damage may be the involvement of reactive oxygen species/oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways. The authors looked at a number of studies, some on mice. The results are unclear, but indicative of the negative impact of noise - perhaps especially the intermittent but loud noise from aircraft - is potentially damaging. The impact may be worse when aircraft noise exposure is in addition to other noise sources. Anecdotally, the mental health impacts of depression and anxiety, for vulnerable people, from inescapable plane noise, at home, are well known. .
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Luton airport’s bid to set aside noise limits is called in by Secretary of State
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has called-in Luton Borough Council’s December decision to set aside the noise and growth limits imposed on Luton Airport until 2028. In its decision letter, the DLUHC cites concerns over climate change, policies for enhancing the natural environment, and the local development plan which was to be set aside to allow more airport growth. Campaigners have welcomed the decision as enabling the national Planning Inspectorate to review what many feel is a conflicted situation in which the Council derives significant revenue from the Airport but is also responsible for planning decisions which affect its environmental impacts on the whole local area. Andrew Lambourne, from anti-noise group LADACAN which led the calls for a call-in, said: “People living all around Luton Airport had to put up with far more noise, pollution and traffic congestion than they should have done between 2017 and 2019, and they deserve justice."
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Proposed relaxation of limits on night-time flights at Dublin Airport poses ‘significant hazard to human health’
There have been several studies, in recent years, confirming that aircraft noise at night can have negative health impacts, especially on cardiovascular health. For good health, adults need at least 7 hours of good sleep each night - that requires a period that long without plane noise overhead. Now the Irish Government proposes to allow relaxation of limits on night-time flights at Dublin Airport. This would pose “a significant hazard to human health” for people living in the area. Currently there is a ban on planes using Dublin's new north runway between 11pm and 7am, but the intention is to reduce this to midnight to 7am. ie. from 8 hours to 6 hours without noise. The proposal is also to increase the number of flights overall from 65 per night, between 11p. and 7am, and replace this number with a noise quota scheme, based on the theoretical noise level of planes. All this would increase the level of noise at night, and prevent people living near the airport or under flight paths from getting good quality sleep - with a high probability of negatively impacting their health and well-being.
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Luton Airport consultation about expansion plans, to increase to 32 million annual passengers
Luton airport has started another public consultation (ends 4th April) on further expansion plans. It now wants to increase its annual number of passengers (from 18.2 million in 2019) to 32 million (mppa). The proposals by the airport owner Luton Rising [the new name the company that owns Luton airport has started using] involve expanding the existing terminal, building a 2nd terminal and making "best use" [ie. more use] of the existing runway. At the start of December 2021, Luton council, which conveniently owns the airport, gave it permission to increase from 18 to 19 mppa. If approved, the Phase 1 would be expansion of Terminal 1 and associated facilities to increase capacity to approximately 21.5 mppa. Phase 2 would involve construction of new Terminal 2 and associated facilities to increase airport capacity to 27 mppa. Then a later further phase would be more expansion of Terminal 2, to increase to 32 mppa. Opponents of the airport's growth say the latest consultation is "a huge waste of public money". The level of aircraft noise in 2019 was severe, and residents are horrified of it becoming even worse - as well as the local congestion etc. It makes no sense to encourage aviation expansion, when the UK must cut its carbon emissions, fast.
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Bristol local campaigners feel betrayed by Bristol Airport approval by the Planning Inspectorate
Despite huge opposition to the plans to expand Bristol airport, from a cap of 10 million annual passengers to 12 million, the plan was approved by the Planning Inspectorate on 2nd February, after an appeal by the airport to refusal by North Somerset Council. Residents and campaigners say that this decision flies in the face of the evidence that was presented to the inquiry by climate experts and local residents. It means about 20,000 more annual flights. It also makes a mockery of the planning decision taken locally by North Somerset Council and the expressed opinions of the local MPs and surrounding councils. The voices of some 8,900 people who objected in writing to the proposals and the many thousands more who marched in solidarity against the plans has also been ignored in what is a terrible blow to local democracy and accountability. The expansion would result in hugely more CO2 (at a time of climate crisis), more noise, more car journeys and road congestion. Stephen Clarke from Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) said: " It means that the airport and the planning inspectorate have totally ignored the climate crisis we are currently in."