Noise & the Environment

Night flights over London to be allowed during Games

Wednesday, 11 November 2009 00:00

London residents fear a "relentless noise nightmare" during the Olympics as air industry bosses consider using night flights to cope with the surge in travel to the capital. The Civil Aviation Authority suggests easing restrictions on flights during sleeping hours at all airports while the Games takes place, it emerged today.

London airports, particularly Heathrow, already operate near full capacity during the day. Planners estimate a million extra people will visit Britain in July and August 2012. The CAA's Olympic steering group discusses a general "derestriction of noise controls" on its website. It also raises the possibility of using military air bases to meet demand, which could mean new flight paths over London.

More ideas put forward by the air experts include using "balloons" and airships, which were last used to ferry passengers in the Thirties.

Read the full article in The Evening Standard.

This would be the thin end of the wedge were it to go ahead. There is plenty of airport capacity around London - Heathrow is NOT 99% full as often stated in BAA propaganda - and night flights must not be allowed to increase via the "back door" route.

Switch in Heathrow take-offs 'will cause more aircraft noise'

Monday, 19 October 2009 00:00

Residents living near Heathrow face longer periods of noise disruption under plans to change landing and take-off arrangements.

Arrivals and departures are switched between the airport's two runways at 3pm daily to give respite to people living under each flight-path. But campaigners fear airport operator BAA is looking to widen special procedures that allow planes to land and take off from the same runway - so compromising the half-day "peace and quiet".

The campaigners warn that this paves the way for "mixed mode" use of runways (using the same one for take-offs and landings in the same time period) if an incoming Tory government blocks plans for a third runway. Up to 700,000 residents are affected by the 480,000 flights a year in and out of Heathrow. With the airport operating at 99 per cent capacity, loss of a third runway would add to demands for a more intensive use of existing ones.

Read the full article in The Evening Standard.

Which is exactly why the campaign is not just against the third runway but against any further expansion of Heathrow's capacity. This is also why the campaign will continue as long as is necessary.

BAA cannot be trusted. It's the lesson of history.

Government to be challenged from within over expanding aviation industry

Wednesday, 09 September 2009 00:00

The Government is likely to be challenged by its own climate change advisory body on its decision to approve a third runway at Heathrow and permit a doubling in air travel by 2030. The Committee on Climate Change believes that the rapid expansion of air travel is inconsistent with the Government’s legally binding commitment to cut overall carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent on 1990 levels by 2050. It believes that allowing aviation to expand at the rate proposed by the Government could place an unacceptable burden on other industries to achieve the cut.

The committee is also concerned that the expansion of air travel will undermine efforts to persuade developing countries to agree emissions cuts at the UN summit on climate change in December. When approving the third runway in principle in January, the Government made it conditional on the aviation industry meeting its own target of cutting emissions to 2005 levels by 2050. Ministers avoided using the 1990 baseline because this could have forced airlines to halve the present number of flights.

Air passenger numbers grew from 102 million in 1990 to 240 million in 2007 and are due to reach 470 million by 2030.

In a letter published today, the committee says that if aviation emissions are at 2005 levels in 2050 the rest of the economy will have to make 90 per cent cuts to achieve the overall 80 per cent emissions reduction target. The committee will publish a review of UK aviation and its impact on climate change on December 8, one week before Gordon Brown and other world leaders are due to sign a global treaty on cutting emissions.

In an interview with The Times David Kennedy, the committee’s chief executive, said: “It wasn’t specified in our terms of reference but we could take it upon ourselves to talk about Heathrow in our UK aviation review.”

Read the full article in The Times.

Of course the numbers don't add up, and David Kennedy is right to consider Heathrow expansion in the review.

If a 90 percent cut were to be required without expansion, what on earth would it be with a third runway?

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