CAMPAIGNERS CALL ON CAA TO SUSPEND CONSULTATION ON CITY AIRPORT FLIGHT PATHS

Posted on September 8, 2014

Campaign group HACAN East has written to the Civil Aviation Authority to ask it to suspend the current consultation being carried out by London City Airport into flight path changes in East London(2). HACAN East argues that the tens of thousands of residents who are in line to get more planes if the flight path changes go ahead are not being told about them. London City is proposing to concentrate the flights taking off from the airport in a narrow corridor. Areas directly under the favored flight path will be Bow, Hackney Wick, Leyton Midland Road, Leytonstone, Barkingside and Colliers Row. City Airport is currently consulting on the proposed changes but is not leafleting the areas that will be worst affected (1).

The changes are part of a wider reorganization of the airspace across London and the South East which is been overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). New computer technology can now guide aircraft much more accurately when they are landing and taking off. It gives airports the option of varying the routes the planes use in order to give all residents some respite from the noise or of concentrating all the planes on one route. London City has chosen to concentrate the aircraft.

HACAN East chair John Stewart said, “Quite simply, London City is creating a noise ghetto. No wonder they are afraid to spell out to the residents what is in store for them. Nobody is telling the residents what will be in store for them.”

Stewart added, “We have written an official letter to the CAA, which oversees the consultation, calling for it to be suspended.

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

(1). The consultation documents can be found athttp://www.londoncityairport.com/londonairspacemanagement. It started on 4th September and runs until 27th November 2014. Responses to the consultation should be emailed to lamp@londoncityairport.com

(2). Letter to the CAA

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you to express our concerns about the shortcomings in the current LAMP consultation being carried out by London City Airport.

We believe they are serious. The consultation makes it clear that the future flight paths will be concentrated over particular areas yet there is no guarantee in this consultation that the residents who will be impacted will be made aware of this fact and offered the opportunity to respond.

London City identifies the key stakeholders who are being consulted as “The London City Airport Consultative Committee (ACC) which includes representatives of Local Authorities, community representatives and other organisations that have expressed an interest in the activities of the airport; members of the National Air Traffic Management Committee (NATMAC) which includes representatives of all types of airspace users; airlines that operate from London City Airport”.

As far as we are aware neither the consultative committee nor the local authorities have plans for a door-to-door leaflet drop to the tens of thousands of residents who will find themselves living under the concentrated flight paths. We are not even certain it is their job to do so. It is probably the role of the airport. We are also not aware of any public meetings being organized in the affected areas. For example, we believe parts of Leytonstone will be badly affected. Who has told the residents?

If your powers allow you to do so, we would urge you to order all stakeholders to be fully consulted during this consultation or to suspend it and require a fresh consultation to take place.

Yours sincerely,

John Stewart

Chair HACAN East

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London City will create noise ghettos with flight path changes

Posted on September 7, 2014

CAMPAIGNERS ACCUSE LONDON CITY AIRPORT OF CREATING A NOISE GHETTO WITH PROPOSED FLIGHT PATH CHANGES

Campaign group HACAN East has accused City Airport of failing to spell out to tens of thousands of residents in East London that they are in line to get many more planes overhead if proposed flight path changes go ahead. London City is proposing to concentrate the flights taking off from the airport in a narrow corridor. Areas directly under the favored flight path will be Bow, Hackney Wick, Leyton Midland Road, Leytonstone, Barkingside and Colliers Row. City Airport is currently consulting on the proposed changes but is not leafleting the areas that will be worst affected (1).

The changes are part of a wider reorganization of the airspace across London and the South East which is been overseen by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority). New computer technology can now guide aircraft much more accurately when they are landing and taking off. It gives airports the option of varying the routes the planes use in order to give all residents some respite from the noise or of concentrating all the planes on one route. London City has chosen to concentrate the aircraft.

HACAN East chair John Stewart said, “Quite simply, London City is creating a noise ghetto. No wonder they are afraid to spell out to the residents what is in store for them. The contrast with Heathrow couldn’t be more marked. They are planning to consult widely on the changes and to use the new technology to share out the noise burden.”

Stewart added, “We will be officially reporting London City to the CAA because of the poor quality of their consultation. They simply have not made clear to people what is in store for them.”

(1). The consultation documents can be found at http://www.londoncityairport.com/londonairspacemanagement. It started on 4th September and runs until 27th November 2014. Responses to the consultation should be emailed to lamp@londoncityairport.com

DID YOU KNOW

• LCY already have permission for 111,000 flights per year; up to 592 flights per weekday

• LCY have 5 noise monitors close to the airport and 1 in SE28; the only monitor south of the river. You can access these monitors to see the noise measurement an aircraft from ANY airport creates as it flies over. https://webtrak.emsbk.com/lcy

• London is the most overflown city in the world, with 6 London airports (LCY, Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Southend). We also hear long haul planes that overfly the UK

• Home buyers can research if your home is under a concentrated flight path, which could jeopardise your house sale

• A concentrated flight path (first introduced in 2016) means all aircraft follow the same route; like a motorway. It means there is no escape if you live under it. The routes will be reviewed in 2025. If you want your views heard, keep following HACAN East

• 16 London boroughs live under the concentrated flight paths of LCY

• LCY does not communicate with all those under their flight paths when they want to make changes that affect us, so our views often go unheard

In the UK there are over 50 campaign groups against airport noise, pollution and expansion. Every major country also have campaign groups. We are not alone.

• International studies have identified how aircraft noise and pollution impacts health; sleep deprivation, stress, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, dementia, etc

• LCY is in the London Borough of Newham, who have approved all previous expansion planning applications. However, Newham Council have rejected the latest application for more early morning flights and flights till 7:30pm on a Saturday

• There are several free apps you can download to monitor all the aircraft in your area. FlightRadar24 shows you which operator, height, time, date, etc. you’ll realise that not all noisy aircraft relate to LCY

• There is a free app you can download called Explane. It measures the decibels of one aircraft overhead. It also records which operator, height, time, date, etc. you can submit the information to an international database.

• Although you may record 75-80 decibels of noise from a single aircraft, the Civil Aviation Authority allows airports to average out the sound over 16 hours (7am-11pm) so it reduces the appearance of the impact on Londoners

• LCY suggest that when new generation aircraft finally come to the airport, they will be 5 decibels quieter. Scientists have proved that the human ear will not be able to detect any decrease in noise

• Your voice can be heard at the quarterly LCY Consultative Committee attended by HACAN East

September 2014

CAMPAIGNERS CALL ON CAA TO SUSPEND CONSULTATION ON CITY AIRPORT FLIGHT PATHS

London City will create noise ghettos with flight path changes

HACAN East

DID YOU KNOW