A major report which HACAN commissioned from the Aviation Environment Federation and which it has just published.
Persbericht 6.3.2010
Commentaar Daedalus
"Dit bevestigt het standpunt van Daedalus dat concentratie van vluchtroutes
(vertrekkend of landend) is alleen gerechtvaardigd als er onbewoonbare zones
zijn in het verlengde van de baan tot minstens 30 tot 40 kilometer. Het feit dat
CDA contreproductief is gaat in dezelfde richting.
Britse kritiek op de Continuous Descent Approach (CDA)
omdat deze de concentratiezone voor landingen uitbreidt tot op tientallen
kilometers van de luchthaven, in gebieden die voorheen geen enkele hinder
hadden.
Aircraft
noise is no longer just a
A major
study outlines why things have changed and what can be done about it.
Notes for
Editors: There are maps at the foot of this press
release to illustrate the current situation and links to a short video
which illustrates the situation in Vauxhall in
A major study has been
published by HACAN which outlines practical measures which would reduce aircraft
noise for countless numbers of people living under the Heathrow arrivals flight
paths
(1).
The study was commissioned in response to the increasing number of complaints
about Heathrow noise HACAN received from people living many miles away from the
airport and who used not to be affected. The study, carried out for HACAN by
the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF), concentrated on those places some
distance from Heathrow where aircraft noise has only become a serious problem in
the last decade or so.
During this time aircraft noise
has steadily got worse in
areas such as Vauxhall, Clapham,
Brixton, South East London, Docklands, parts of North London and, to the west of
the airport, places beyond
HACAN Chair John Stewart said,
?No longer is aircraft noise just a problem for the traditional areas of West
London and
The report found that the major
reason for the spread and increase of the noise lies in the fact that aircraft
have started joining their final approach to Heathrow much further out than
previously. For many years planes coming from the east used to start their
final approach in
The report
identifies the reasons for this:
?
There has been a change in the
ways planes come into land. Traditionally, aircraft landed in a step-by-step
manner until they joined their final approach path over Barnes in the east (and
just beyond
?
The situation has been made
worse by the increase in the number of planes in recent years. This has
resulted in aircraft noise becoming a problem in areas of North London such as
Highgate and
A Beckton resident
said, ?There is no way I should be affected by Heathrow aircraft but in recent
years they have become a real problem for me.?
Ghislaine Stewart, who lives at
Vauxhall said, ?We have lived in this house for over 20 years. Yet it is only
in recent years that aircraft noise has become a problem. In fact, it has
become unbearable. We didn?t move to the planes; they moved to us. There was
no consultation. There has been no compensation.?
The report
recommends:
The
introduction of a steeper approach path (glideslope).
At present it is 3 degrees. The study cites research from the international
aviation industry which says that a 4 degree glideslope is feasible, even for
the biggest planes. A 4 degree glideslope could cut the area where people are
disturbed by noise by 21 ? 35%.
This would have benefits for areas closer to Heathrow as well.
The
introduction of curved CDA approaches.
This would overcome the problem of needing a concentrated arrivals corridor over
east and central
The
Government reconsiders its policy of concentrating flight paths.
The report
concludes that the Government?s noise objective which focuses only on the number
of people affected ?is simplistic and out-of-date, and may even act as a
constraint on improving the noise situation around many airports.? A more
equitable system could reduce the noise levels from intolerable to well below
the threshold where it would be noticed.
Tim Johnson, the Director of
the Aviation Environment Federation, the author of the report, said, ?The report
has positive suggestions on how the situation can be improved. It won?t happen
overnight but unless a start is made change will not happen. That is the
challenge for the next Government.?
ENDS
Notes for
Editors:
(1).
Report attached. The report only deals with landing aircraft.
It did not look at take-offs.
Maps Below
(from BAA?s website)
The flights paths (in 2008) of
planes landing at Heathrow. In a typical year a west wind blows for around
70-75% of the year. That is when planes land over
The flight paths when planes
land from the east.
The flight paths when planes land from the west.
For further
details contact:
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641;
07957385650
Tim Johnson on 0207 248 2223
Ghislaine Stewart on 0207 735
619
Press
Release dated: 6/3/10