Noise News
Below are links to stories about noise in relation to airports and aviation.
Edinburgh Airport’s new TUTUR flight path trial started 25th June – maybe for 6 months
The trial of a new flight path to the west of Edinburgh airport started on 25th June. The airport itself does not say how long the trial with last, but reports say either 5 months or 6 months. The trial sees southbound planes take off over Broxburn and Uphall before turning east over the Forth, then south over East Lothian. The aim of the trial is to speed up departures, increase the number of planes than can be handled, and make more money for airlines and the airport. Edinburgh airport says if the trial is a "success," [a success may mean if the level of opposition is low enough, or can be discounted] it could cut the minimum interval between take-offs from two minutes to one minute, doubling the potential number of flights by large planes from the airport. That could mean increasing the total number of flights by 20% to around 120,000 per year. People finding themselves under the new, narrow, route are experiencing much worse plane noise than before - especially as much of the new flight path is on a turn. People are encouraged to contact the airport and make complaints, if they are not happy with the new situation. Edinburgh airport says: "If the trial is successful it will continue for a bit longer" (ie. no end date?) going through the formal Airspace Change Process by the CAA. Once that is done, the route will be permanent - after a public consultation and the statutory change process.
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Residents fight against ‘noisy neighbour’ RAF Northolt over changed flight path
South Ruislip residents are desperately calling on recently-elected MP Boris Johnson to get RAF Northolt to stop allowing planes to fly over their houses. A local resident has collected over 520 signatures,asking that the planes and helicopters stick to the designated flight path. People know for certain that aircraft are flying over areas they did not fly over before. RAF Northolt is said to use one runway with a designated flight path but residents who signed the petition regularly see planes taking off over their houses. In 2013, the decision to keep RAF Northolt as a military airfield included an instruction from defence ministers that it should aim to increase its revenue from commercial aircraft. The increase was set to rise from 7,000 flight movements, taking off or landing, to 12,000 a year. But an RAF spokesman admitted: “Military and government movements are uncapped but expect to remain constant with the total number of movements in 2016 not expecting to exceed 17,500.” Not the 12,000. John Stewart (HACAN) said the "flight paths seem to have changed without any thought of the impact of local communities." Residents say they have not been listened to by Northolt in the past and a letter to them was "dumped in the bin." They hope Boris will step in and do something.
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NAV CANADA and Canadian Airports Council protocol on consultating and informing residents, to reduce opposition
Canadian airports and airspace managers seem to have woken up to the fact that changes to flight paths are deeply unpopular. They have now produced a protocol, setting out how and when they should consult with affected residents. Their intention is to reduce opposition, by consulting and communicating with the local population, on changes to flight paths. It all sounds very laudable, and with aims of "meaningful dialogue" and that they will "consider community feedback in the flight path design process." They say: "Different levels of community outreach and engagement are appropriate depending on the type of change being proposed. In all cases, the goal will be to inform residents so that they are aware of a change, and not surprised by it." But the thing that is missing (and this is so familiar with airspace management in the UK) is any mention anywhere of actually reducing the amount of flights, or reducing the amount of noise, or not introducing the changes to flight paths that the industry considers to be "necessary." It is always just a matter of dialogue, consultation, processes. There is not even a section in the protocol for not introducing changes, if they are not acceptable to residents. Just managing the PR.
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Zac Goldsmith unveils maps showing 1 million under indicative flight paths for a 3 runway Heathrow
Zac's all party group of MPs has produced a new map showing where flight paths might be, with a Heathrow 3rd runway. Their map shows that hundreds of thousands more London residents would find themselves under new flight paths if the runway was built. Senior Tories including Justine Greening and Boris Johnson joined Richmond MP Zac Goldsmith in Parliament to launch a campaign alerting people to the potential impact on neighbourhoods across the capital. Heathrow disputes the map, and nobody knows exactly where the flight paths would be. Zac said Heathrow was “already the biggest [noise] polluter in Europe by far” and that additional noise was just one of the reasons to oppose expansion. Boris Johnson said David Cameron should honour his 2010 pledge of "No if, No Buts, No 3rd Runway". Jenny Jones and the Green Party were the only politicians present who said no runway should be built.myself. Zac Goldsmith is aware of the environmental reasons why no runway should be built. However, he has chosen not to say this and go with the dubious assumption that it is just a choice between Heathrow and Gatwick. He commented: "I recognise by piling pressure against Heathrow expansion, I make it more likely that you have Gatwick expansion, but my first priority is to stop Heathrow expansion, it has to be.”
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Angry residents serve ASBO on Heathrow in flight path noise protest
Residents from a raft of communities to the west of London have served Heathrow with an ASBO (anti social behaviour order) in protest at the increase in aircraft noise generated by new flight paths implemented for Heathrow by their partner NATS. Members of a new grouping, CAIAN (Communities Against Increased Aircraft Noise) took their mock ASBO to Heathrow, to draw attention to the serious impact recent flight pattern changes are having on people across Surrey, Berkshire, and parts of west London. CAIAN represents local action groups that have joined forces to challenge new and altered arrival and departure routes imposed by Heathrow and NATS, without warning or consultation. The mock ASBO accuses Heathrow of “breaches of common decency”, specifically for running an airport “with general disregard for neighbours and the environment, that allows excessive noise for 17+ hours a day, and which contributes to high local air pollution”. CAIAN has a range of demands, including a moratorium on new runways until noise and pollution from the existing two are properly addressed. They will keep up the pressure, to get proper accountability in the aviation sector. There is widespread fury and outrage that PBN routes are being determined by airline profitability rather than any consideration for communities being overflown, who are suffering the consequences.
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FAiR citizens’ movement in Chicago wins the right to take part in talks on flight paths
O'Hare airport in Chicago has 10 runways. The local campaign group, FAiR (Fair Allocation in Runways) has been campaigning for some time for all the diagonal runways to be used, in order to distribute the noise more fairly over surrounding areas. Now FAiR has won the right to have a seat at the table in talks about the noise problem with Illinois State and Chicago City officials and the FAA. A new Joint House Resolution also acknowledges the validity of city and suburban residents’ complaints about the drastic increase in planes, noise and pollution since the October 2013 changes in flight patterns and runway usage at the airport - due to NextGen (the US equivalent of PBN and concentrated flight paths that are becoming a serious problem in the UK). In addition, the resolution calls for the city to ask the FAA to delay any action regarding the diagonal runways due to be decommissioned until all hearings and meetings are completed. They also want the FAA to hold meetings about the aircraft noise problem in the areas newly impacted by the October 2013 changes. FAiR say the only three previous hearings on the O’Hare Modernization Plan held in 2005 were intentionally conducted outside the noise contour area and were minimally announced to the public.
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The city of Phoenix is suing the FAA due to noise from NextGen flight path changes
The City of Phoenix, Arizona, is suing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over flight path changes - part of NextGen - that have led to aircraft noise that's plaguing parts of the city. The Mayor said the city has tried to resolve the issue numerous times, but the FAA hasn't proposed any meaningful changes. The noise problem started in September 2014 when the FAA implemented the new flight paths. City officials, the FAA and some airlines have met to try to work out some improvements, but the FAA say that would take 6 - 12 months to do. Hence the lawsuit as Phoenix city say the solutions don't do enough to make up for hundreds of millions of dollars spent on the city's noise mitigation efforts. The FAA has not been very helpful. A city spokesperson said: "The FAA's actions have caused the community extreme discomfort, with many unable to sleep at night or pursue normal daily activities." It claims the FAA caused "a negative impact on the Phoenix community without proper due process, notification and consideration." Phoenix plans to reach out to other US cities facing similar problems, to join in the lawsuit. Other cities troubled by noise due to NextGen changes are Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Boston.
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Studies show that at least 7 hours of sleep are needed, each night, by adults
Living under a flight path, along which aircraft fly at below - say 7,000 feet - is noisy. It is all the more noisy now that the aviation industry is introducing narrow, concentrated flight paths. These are replacing the older more dispersed routes, as aircraft have new "PBN" technology (like car satnav) and can fly far more accurately than in the past. And it suits the air traffic controllers to keep flight paths narrow. But if airports allow flights at night, or if the "night" period when flights are not allowed is short, this has consequences for people living near, or under, routes. Studies carried out scientifically show adults need at least 7 hours of sleep, each night to be at their healthiest. Children and teenagers need more.There are some people who need more than 7 hours per night, and some need less. It is not good enough to get less one night, and more the next - the brain does not process the day's memories adequately. Studies show adverse effects of not getting enough sleep, which are not only related to concentration, speed of thinking or reacting etc, but also medical effects. The concentrated flight paths, and airports allowed to have flights all night, are causing very real problems. A study into noise and sleep by the CAA in 2009 looked at the issue, and said a large and comprehensive study is needed, but it is "likely to be expensive."
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Correspondence with Carolyn McCall (easyJet) illustrates the desperation caused by Gatwick’s new flight paths
One component of the problem of aircraft noise now being inflicted on people of West Kent and Sussex by newly concentrated Gatwick flight paths, is the "Airbus whine". This is an unpleasant additional noise, at a particularly annoying frequency, due to air passing over the Fuel Over Pressure Protector (FOPP) cavities. This is relatively cheap and easy to put right. However, easyJet has not taken steps to make the changes, as it would slightly cut profits. Now infuriated residents have asked Ms Carolyn McCall, the CEO of easyJet, to take action on this. She has replied to say: "easyJet will do whatever it can as we take noise and environmental issues very seriously. I am looking into already how we can accelerate our programme to address this issue." She has actually been aware of the problem for a long time .... some emails to her are copied, giving a flavour of the desperation, anger and exasperation of people whose lives have been changed, seriously for the worse, because of altered and concentrated Gatwick flight paths - about which they were not consulted or informed. Their determination to reverse the deterioration in their quality of life, from the noise intrusion, is palpable.
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Gatwick, Heathrow and London City Airport campaigns come together to oppose airspace change
Over the past year or more, changes to flight paths and airspace being introduced in the UK, and these have caused considerable anger and upset among the many communities - and tens of thousands of people - now affected. Many new groups sprang up, in response to the greatly increased levels of aircraft noise people were being exposed to. Now these flight path groups at Gatwick, Heathrow and London City airports have joined forces and got together, to show the DfT, the Government, the CAA and NATS the anger of residents across the UK to these airspace changes. They have signed a joint letter, being delivered to the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, demanding that Government policy should be changed to minimise the impact of aircraft noise on residents. They also demand that the right of people to health, well-being and family life should be prioritised by Ministers over the drive of airlines, airports and aviation industry for greater profits. They are asking that Government should instigate legislation that governs and controls NATS usage of airspace, and that the CAA gives true consideration to residents who are affected, which is not the current situation.