Noise News
Below are links to stories about noise in relation to airports and aviation.
Luton Airport wants to relax aircraft noise violation limits as it starts expansion programme
Luton Airport has submitted an application to 'simplify' noise limits as it starts its expansion programme. The airport has asked its owner, Luton borough council, to change a condition on the planning permission it granted in 2013, to lessen stringent noise limits. St Albans district council has been warned in an officer’s report that this change would “increase noise over and beyond levels that were previously considered unacceptable”. Luton Airport is worried it will struggle to meet one of the conditions attached to its approval, and that airlines found exceeding noise levels will face more penalties very frequently - day and night. Within 6 months of starting its expansion - to ultimately nearly double passenger numbers - the airport is supposed to reduce noise from all aircraft, to lessen the impact upon neighbouring residents. Instead of the condition placing a limit over all 24 hours of the day and night on noise levels generated by all aircraft., Luton wants the reduction to affect planes flown overnight only - between 11pm and 7am. The report by the St Albans council officer says there are already planes exceeding current noise limits. Luton Council has yet to decide on the application.
Click here to view full story...
Gatwick announces “independent review” of Westerly Arrivals due to the extent of opposition to changed flight paths
Due to the level of disturbance, upset and anger for miles around Gatwick, from increased aircraft noise, narrowed and altered flight paths, Gatwick's Chairman, Sir Roy McNulty, has commissioned an "independent review" of air traffic, which will focus on Westerly Arrivals (ie. planes arriving from the east, to the airport, when there are westerly winds). The review will be led by Bo Redeborn, who for many years was Principal Director of ATM for EUROCONTROL. Gatwick airport says Mr Redeborn "will be assisted by a small independent review team which has been tasked with ensuring the involvement of local communities most affected." The review is to look at whether, for westerly arrivals: "Everything that can reasonably be done to alleviate the problems which local communities are raising is in fact being done, whether this involves action by the airport or by other parties most closely involved – NATS, CAA, DfT or the airlines." And if Gatwick's approach to providing "information to the local community and for handling complaints are fully adequate for the task." Thousands of people do not believe Gatwick is succeeding on either. The review is to begin on 1st September 2015. It may end in November, but may be extended if more consultation is needed. There will be a review of Easterly Arrivals later on.
Click here to view full story...
Permission refused for Gatwick Obviously NOT’s Judicial Review. They appeal.
Gatwick Obviously NOT, the flight path group set up last year in response to the newly concentrated arrival flight paths to Gatwick, has been refused permission to proceed with their JR against the CAA. Though disappointed, the GON's Strategic Team of 15 spent much of the weekend conferring on the best way forward. They had to review and understand the reasons for the Order to Refuse and take the advice of their QC, John Steel. Having done so, the very strong consensus was to go to Appeal, and Counsel has been instructed. It is expected that this will we have now given those instructions to our Counsel. We expect that this will happen in the autumn. It is, however, a daunting task to take on the CAA, the Secretary of State for Transport, Gatwick airport and NATS. The decision to go for Appeal was taken with great care - and fundraising is under way to raise the necessary funds. GON say the judge, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, while refusing the Permission, added a postscript, seeming to suggest that there may be an issue about the need for consultation for 'seismic' events (such as the flight path changes introduced without notice) that is more a matter for the law-makers, not the lawyers. GON are staging a huge outdoor photo stunt on 16th August. Details below.
Click here to view full story...
Heathrow may oppose ban on night flights, and ban on 4th runway, as price for 3rd runway
Heathrow is to press the government to loosen the conditions attached to a 3rd runway going ahead, unwilling to agree either to a ban on night flights or on a 4th runway. These were two important conditions suggested by the Airports Commission, to make a 3rd runway acceptable to its neighbours. However, Heathrow sees the conditions as negotiable, and John Holland-Kaye brazenly said he was confident Heathrow would be given the green light to expand and that “it wouldn’t make sense” for the prime minister to oppose a new runway now. Even if Heathrow does not agree to important conditions. Holland-Kaye wants to have a "conversation" about conditions with government. It is used to trying to have "conversations" with local residents, in which the airport generally manages to get its way, with only minimal concessions. Heathrow does not want lose lucrative night flights: “We have a significant number of routes to Hong Kong and Singapore. That’s getting key trading partners into the UK to start their business. It’s very popular because it’s an important route." Holland-Kaye said the airport would “comment later on the package of conditions as a whole”, but he noted that “we do have the ability, physically” to build a 4th runway.
Click here to view full story...
LAANC (Local Authorities Aircraft Noise Council) to consider legal action against “biased and flawed” Airports Commission report
LAANC, the Local Authorities Aircraft Noise Council, has said it is considering a legal challenge over the huge gaps and deep bias of the Airports Commission (AC) report. It will wait for a full report from its legal team before deciding its next steps. Founded in the 1960s to enable local authorities to collaborate on tackling noise pollution from Heathrow, it now addresses any form of disturbance. Its director Colin Stanbury, said his initial view was that the AC report contained serious gaps, including the flawed benefits methodology used, which dramatically overestimated the economic benefits. There are serious concens about the number of houses that would need to be built. "There was incredulity that Sir Howard had allowed Heathrow’s claim to stand that the massive cost of surface access changes would be picked up by the taxpayer ..." Air quality claims in the report were considered beyond common sense. And so on, for many issues including noise and air freight. But the AC's report was independent, and the AC has been wound up. Legal challenge may not be possible until there is a government report. The LAANC will produce its own non technical summary before end of summer to help people digest the AC report and analysis. The 2M group of councils is also taking advice on a possible legal challenge.
Click here to view full story...
easyJet agrees to bring forward modification of its A320s using Gatwick, to get rid of the “whine”
People living in parts of Kent and Sussex, near or under Gatwick approach flight paths, are hoping easyJet will finally do something about the awful whining noise their A320 series planes make. EasyJet has finally agreed to fix its fleet of Airbus A320 planes - which only takes a simple and inexpensive modification. The whine from older Airbus A320 planes is caused by the Fuel Over Pressure Protector (FOPP) cavities which can be easily fixed by retrofitting the planes with a simple piece of kit called a flow deflector. The plane noise problem has been particularly intrusive this year since a narrow flight path corridor for Gatwick arrivals, so noise is not dispersed by sharing the noise burden. EasyJet had said they would get their planes modified by 2018, but realising the fury and upset their company has caused, now say they will bring forward the timetable for the work by two years. EasyJet says by June 2016 around 100 planes will have been adapted and work is due to begin this November. The whole fleet of 197 aircraft will be fully retrofitted by March 2018. BA says it will modify its 130 older Airbus A320 planes from October 2015. People in Kent and Sussex are hopeful there will be an improvement, and before too long.
Click here to view full story...
Queen could get £ millions to soundproof Windsor Castle from noise hotspot due to a 3rd Heathrow runway
Windsor Castle would suffer increased noise from a 3rd Heathrow runway and the Queen could be given £ millions to soundproof the 900-year-old landmark, according to Whitehall sources. The Queen could be the single biggest beneficiary of a compensation scheme aimed at mitigating the noise from a new runway. Heathrow Airport has agreed to pay £700 million towards a £1 billion compensation scheme to provide nearby residents with soundproofing. An official said: "...if they do need to insulate the Windsor’s against noise it will cost a fortune — potentially millions....They will end up spending more on compensation to the Queen than they spent in the past 10 years on noise compensation." And the taxpayer may have to foot much of the bill. A report by the DfT showed that Windsor Castle sits in a potential ‘island of noise’ which would be created by the 3rd runway. There would be an intersection of flight paths near Windsor, causing an extra noisy “hotspot” in the area. Heathrow's noise compensation scheme would pay for double glazing, loft insulation and acoustic boarding, for homes near the airport and under flight paths. Heathrow said more than 160,000 households could be eligible for noise insulation "including in Windsor".
Click here to view full story...
Gatwick now says it will “carry out a fresh review of the whole situation” on Gatwick westerly arrivals
The group opposing Gatwick's altered flight paths, "Gatwick Obviously Not" wrote to Global Infrastructure Partners, (GIP), the main owner of Gatwick, on 9th May. Now a reply has been received from Sir Roy McNulty, who is the Chairman of Gatwick Airport Ltd. [Sir John Major, former Prime Minister, is Chairman of the Senior Advisor Panel at GIP] The letter says: "Sir John Major has shared with me your letter of 9th May. Sir John has asked me to look into this matter and reply to you direct. Having reviewed the issues… I have concluded that the best course is to carry out a fresh review of the whole situation as regards westerly arrivals into Gatwick … Yours sincerely." Westerly arrivals are those coming in from the east to Gatwick - in other words the narrowed swathe the people in west Kent, and much of Sussex have all been suffering from. The airport and its owners are aware of the extent of the opposition and anger that their flight paths have caused, from the literally thousands of complaints and letters that have been sent. Many people are not only angry about the aircraft " super-highways" in the sky over their heads, but deeply stressed by having their tranquillity removed, with no consultation or warning. Extracts from one (of many) furious and determined letter are copied here, illustrating the problem.
Click here to view full story...
In New Zealand, the Civil Aviation denies planes are flying lower in Wellington
People living in the area or Brooklyn, some three miles from Wellington airport in New Zealand, believe they are now being subjected to much more aircraft noise than before. But despite residents' complaints, New Zealand Civil Aviation officials say there has not been any change to flight paths and no changes to rules that might relate flights over Wellington. The airport said there had been no changes that would suggest a significant increase in flights over specific areas, though there had been "unseasonably good weather" during summer which might have affected aircraft operations. Nevertheless, Brooklyn residents were adamant there was a problem and that planes were flying lower than previously. The changes began about a year ago, with planes lower than before. Residents want the flight paths to revert to their earlier routes, and letters have been sent to Civil Aviation, city councillors, the mayor, MPs and the airport - but there is either no response or else replies to say responsibility lies elsewhere. A resident said she had lived in the area for 21 years, but this was the first year of planes being lower. Some of this sounds familiar to problems in the UK.
Click here to view full story...
Stansted airport night flight warning after Davies Commission recommends third Heathrow runway
The MP for Saffron Walden, Sir Alan Haselhurst, says the banning of night flights at Heathrow, suggested by the Davies Commission which has recommended a third runway at Heathrow rather than a second one at Gatwick (or at Stansted) could still have “sinister” implications for Stansted. The Commission considers Stansted is likely to be full in 15 years, with one runway. The Commission is suggesting one of the conditions on a Heathrow north-west runway is that there should be no night flights at Heathrow. Sir Alan commented: "That has sinister implications. If they are not there, they will have to go somewhere. I don’t want to see the transfer of night flights to Stansted....We have the likes of FedEx and UPS. They are a very important industry. You can have a package from across the world delivered by 10am the following morning but that involves flights at unsocial hours. The dominant players at Stansted are RyanAir and EasyJet and the reason they can offer cheap flights is that they have continuous usage. Planes don’t make money while they are standing on the ground.” Hence the night flights at Stansted. And also at Gatwick, Unintended consequences?