Noise News
Below are links to stories about noise in relation to airports and aviation.
Times reports that Heathrow is hoping to get 50 more flights per day 2020 – 2024 before 3rd runway
Heathrow flights are capped at 480,000 flights per year - which was set as a condition of the Terminal 5 planning consent in 2001.Heathrow now wants to increase the number of flights by about 19,000, giving a total of about 499,000 per year - which means about an extra 50 planes per day, taking off or landing. This would happen relatively soon, and about 4 years before a 3rd runway was operational - during its construction stage. The cap of 480,000 can only be lifted if there is a planning application for a 3rd runway, and that could take several years to start - maybe not till 2020. Heathrow is attempting to gloss over the inevitably increased noise by its chairman Lord Deighton saying the increase "would be accompanied by sweeping mitigation measures outlined by the airport in May, including a ban on night flights." If that was true, it is likely to mean the loss of the half day of respite people east of the airport get, from runway alternation, when runways switch at 3pm each day. This is hugely valued by tens or hundreds of thousands of people. Its reduction or removal would be fiercely opposed. Heathrow is trying to persuade government etc that more flights is vital to "show that Britain was “open for business” after the Brexit vote. A card they repeatedly play nowadays.
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Lively public meeting in Linlithgow on problems of Edinburgh Airport’s changed flight paths
There was an excellent turnout at a meeting in Linlithgow organised by Edinburgh Airport Watch, on the airport's consultation on changing fight paths. The large and lively audience travelled from across the region. The CEO of Edinburgh airport, Gordon Dewar, attended. Members of Edinburgh Airport Watch spoke up for residents who are suffering unwanted aircraft noise on a daily basis. The airport refused to concede it has made any changes to the airspace over the last year, despite a clear majority of the people present indicating that, while they had no problem with noise before the 2015 TUTUR trial started, they most certainly have a problem with new and unwanted aircraft noise now. People are adamant that a departure SID - standard instrument departure route - called DEAN CROSS has been renamed GOSAM and how has around 20 times as much traffic on it as before. People under it now get about 70 planes per day, between 6am and midnight, all week. Residents now have little trust in the airport, as it has not been straight with them on noise. Concerns were expressed that the current “Letsgofurther” consultation includes the failed TUTUR route, which brought misery to thousands last year. There are also serious concerns as it is not clear what criteria the airport will use to determine where the new flight paths will be.
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Edinburgh consultation on flight paths turns into omni-shambles as airport loses vital consultation data
Edinburgh Airport Watch, and many others, were shocked to learn that the integrity and accuracy of the airport's consultation process has been jeopardised by a computer upgrade. The airport has admitted that they lost 199 responses made over the last week. The data submitted between 10.31am on Monday, 29 August and 12.05pm on Friday, 2 September was accidentally not saved between these dates and times during a planned upgrade of the site. The airport has apologised for the inconvenience to those who now have to re-submit their response, and the consultation has been extended by a week (from the earlier end date of 12th September to 19th September) to give people the chance to submit again. The airport has 21 of the email addresses (out of the 199) lost submissions, so can inform those people. Local group, Edinburgh Airport Watch commented that trust in the airport had already hit rock bottom, and this latest blunder (even if not directly the airport's fault) only serves to further damage Edinburgh Airport's seriously tattered reputation among communities, especially in its consultation process. The group also have concerns about the area being consulted, with a huge number of people not being affected by the airport's flight paths. A large public meeting was held on 6th September.
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Gatwick airport applies to have LOWER costs for night flights in summer in 2017/2018
The local campaign group, Gatwick Obviously NOT (GON), has learned that Gatwick airport has applied to the CAA to be allowed to reduce the price charged to aircraft to land at night. The night period is considered, for charging, to be be 22.30 to 04.59. The current charge for the lowest noise category (Chapter 4) planes at to land at night in summer (1st April to 31st October) is £622. There is no charge for the winter period (November to March). Gatwick currently charges Chapter 4 aircraft the same £622 for the period 04.00 to 18.59 in summer, but £204 from 19.00 to 22.29. GON has asked Gatwick to reconsider. They have refused. GON has therefore asked Secretary of State, Chris Grayling, to direct them to think again, as is his right under section 38 (4) and (5) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982. Eight local MPs have written to Chris Grayling, saying: "It is therefore regrettable and in our view not acceptable that Gatwick Airport propose to charge significantly less for night flights than for day flights from 2017/18. This appears to be designed to increase demand for night flights in the run up to your review of the regulatory regime for such flights due in 2017. Any such increase would have devastating impacts on all communities in the vicinity the airport." GON is encouraging its members to write to MPs etc to make their views felt.
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Edinburgh Airport Consultation on Flight Paths – public meeting on 6th September
Edinburgh Airport is currently consulting (ends 12th September) on changes to their flight paths. These changes affect a wide swathe around the airport, and are likely to impact on about 300,000 people across West Lothian, Falkirk and Fife areas, many in communities that have not been affected by aircraft noise previously. The local community group, Edinburgh Airport Watch, has organised a public meeting on 6th September, for people to understand the issues and what is at stake. It is to be chaired by Neil Findlay MSP. Edinburgh airport’s website has some more information, but there are few details on what is actually being proposed. There is insufficient detail of routes and how intensively they will be used, or over what times of day (or night). Many local communities are very concerned about changes that have already happened, and those that may happen in future, in terms of changes routes and concentration of routes. Some previously quiet areas that had no overhead flights, or few, now have very noticeably more. The airport wants to put in more flights at peak times, and that is a key driver of the changes. In 2015 the airport was forced to abandon a trial of a new westerly take-off (TURUR) route due to huge and widespread opposition. This route now cannot be used again without a full public consultation.
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New York: Residents claim LaGuardia plane noise is driving people out of Queens neighbourhood
Residents of northeast Queens say plane noise from LaGuardia Airport has increased, and people have been moving out of the Flushing area because the noise has become unbearable. Though there are two airports in the Queens area, in the past the noise was tolerable as it was more widely spread out. But in the past four years, through the FAA's "NextGen" programme, like PBN in the UK, flight paths have been narrowed and changed. Those under these new routes are finding the level of noise unacceptable. It was not like that when they moved to the area. They were not warned. Through a FoI Act request, the "Queens Quiet Skies"group, along with state Sen. Tony Avella, found that though the number of flights at the airport hasn’t increased. Since 2012 there has been a 47% increase in planes over northeast Queens on one particular route. There is the fear that the airport and the FAA are trying to do is see if they can increase capacity over one neighbourhood rather than spread it out - and then they can increase capacity over others too. Queens Quiet Skies and Senator Avella are hoping to start a working group with the Port Authority and FAA to address the problem. When the changed flight paths were introduced and people complained, the Port Authority said this was due to heightened awareness and sensitivity to the issue than to any significant changes in aviation operations. (Sound familiar?)
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Flood of complaints from people upset by newly concentrated flight paths at London City airport
London City Airport’s decision to concentrate all its flights paths earlier this year, with changes from 4th February, has resulted in a flood of complaints. HACAN East, which speaks for residents under the flight paths, has launched a short report outlining some of the complaints they received in just one month. With hot summer weather and people being outdoors more, or opening their windows more, the problem of aircraft noise is at its worst as people are most aware of it. HACAN East said the newly concentrated flight paths have brought complaints from many areas for the first time. The complaints have come from vast swathes of east and south east London. Hundreds of people have said they did not have flights in the past, but now get them sometimes as often as every 3 minutes. People who moved to the area are now subjected to a level of noise they could not have expected, and they are affected by Heathrow arrivals as well as London City flights. People are especially upset if they moved from a noisy area, hoping they had moved to a quieter one. John Stewart said that HACAN East has met airport representatives who said they "have not closed their mind" to looking again at the concentrated flight paths but will not do so until next year after the Government (DfT) has issued its forthcoming consultation on national airspace policy.
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US ex-FAA lawyer: Aviation noise is an issue that needs a reasonable solution
A lawyer who used to work for the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority - akin to the CAA) has written about how he believes people affected by aircraft noise should be treated better. He says there are people who buy a home near a small airport, expecting just a small number of flights - and then find the airport is expanded and instead of small general aviation planes, the airport handles huge jets. "Or the homeowner who buys a house in a rural area known for its peace and quiet, miles away from the nearest airport only to find that the FAA has changed the flight path so that a constant stream of large jets are flying under 5000 feet over the house." "Or the homeowner who has lived in a neighborhood near an airport for years. But then, the airport owner and the FAA decide to reconfigure the runways at the large commercial airport to accommodate more traffic and the homeowner finds herself underneath the approach pattern for the airport." Many in the aviation industry blame those affected and say they should not have chosen to live near an airport. But the lawyer says there FAA needs a more reasonable policy, adding: "Reasonable noise standards that should be followed by the airports, aircraft, airlines and the FAA should be instituted. And they must be enforced."
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New video from Windsor reveals – Olympic style – the worst plane noise the borough suffers
A new short video has been produced by Wisdom da Costa, who has been a councillor in Windsor, and was chair of the West Windsor Residents Association (WWRA). In the spirit of the Olympics, it looks in a light hearted way at the noise from Heathrow planes that his borough has to suffer. He measured the noise (using an iPhone 6 and the Uplause App) from a range of planes that flew over Windsor at about 1,800 feet. Windsor gets landings for about one third of the year, and take offs for two thirds of the year and is around 8 km from the end of the runways. Ranking the noise produced by short haul planes, the B757 was noisiest (80 dB) with the A320 at 79dB and the A321 third at 74dB. Ranking the medium haul planes, the noisiest was the A330 at 88dB, with the B767 and B787 at about 85dB. Then for the largest, long haul planes, the winner - the very noisiest - was the B747 at 89dB followed equally by the A380 and the B777 at about 85dB. Noise levels of 80 - 90 decibels are compared to blow-dryer, or a kitchen blender/food processor. A lot of noise studies have shown continuous exposure to this sort of noise has negative effects on human health. Wisdom says this, contrary to the Olympic comparison, is not just a bit of fun. It is a serious problem. And he asks "Why have human health impacts been suppressed?' in relation to a Heathrow runway.
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Heathrow unveils some minimal, largely cosmetic, noise reduction measures to try to reduce runway opposition
Planes landing at Heathrow are being told to delay the lowering of landing gear as part of attempts to cut the amount of plane noise. Pilots are being told not to lower the wheels until about 4.6 miles from the runway, instead of the average of 8 miles now, and this would not pose any safety risk. Planes will thus be slightly less noisy for those from around 8 - 4.5 miles from the runway. Heathrow is trying to find ways - and they are all tiny ways - to give the impression it is cutting plane noise, in its attempts to persuade the government that it can deal with the added noise burden with a new runway and 50% more flights. Heathrow has also said it will reduce the landing charges for the latest, less noisy aircraft, phasing out older noisier planes eventually. It also plans to install 50 more noise monitors around the airport (which, of course, do not in themselves reduce noise at all). Heathrow calls its new package a Blueprint for Noise Reduction, with 10 supposed measures. These include the launch of a "web based tool xPlane for residents to access flight data specific to their locations", again in the hope that measuring the noise and giving residents information, somehow make the noise go away. And Heathrow plans to introduce an unspecified "voluntary Quiet Night Charter" - no details, but no reduction in night flights.