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Aircraft Noise
With the building of the third runaway at Heathrow to begin in the very near future, the British Airports Authority (BAA) published a Noise Action Plan in May and invited the general public to express their opinions of the plan by completing a Consultation Survey to be sent in by early October. The Society asked Taplow resident Geoff Holloway, a retired international and domestic routes pilot, to comment on the Plan. His comments have been incorporated within the Society’s response to the consultation. He writes: Noise is a subjective issue, with different sounds affecting people differently – a consensus on acceptable levels is an impossible dream. The Action Plan is long on jargon and aspirations, and for residents of the Taplow area much of its content can be disregarded. Looking first at night movements Arrivals are only an issue on easterly landings, when aircraft tracking from Europe generally overfly Burnham Beeches heading west, before making a 180° turn to approach Heathrow. Two factors affect noise. First, air traffic control may route the aircraft too close to the M4 corridor and turn it early, thus requiring it to descend earlier and pass over our built-up area. Second, aircrews may fail to observe continuous descent procedures, which are designed to avoid periods of level flight and therefore use of higher power. Air Traffic Control should be more active in limiting descent clearances. Departures are only an issue on westerly take-offs. Quieter aircraft are desirable but the perceived noise is generally little altered. Restrictions and fines for departures after 2300 hours do exist, but BAA have plenty of scope for granting exemptions (lack of terminal space/hotel accommodation for delayed passengers, etc.) Some other airports, such as Zurich, allow no such flexibility. BAA’s own figures suggest the frequency of dispensations is high but even one a week can ruin 52 nights’ sleep for local residents in one year. BAA should be more strict in enforcing the restrictions. Turning to round-the-clock operations The current departure routes involve a turn north, either in the vicinity of Sainsbury’s in Taplow or a little to the west, so as to avoid Maidenhead. These routes have been in place for decades and any change would involve inconvenience for other areas with concomitant howls of protest. Any proposal to shift the burden is unlikely to meet a favourable reception. The ability of modern aircraft to navigate accurately is immense, which only severe weather conditions should mitigate. A stipulation should be made that speeds must be constrained to enable the aircraft to follow the path accurately. This would have the benefit of increasing the altitude of planes over our area. BAA should insist on greater accuracy in flying the prescribed path. Regarding the Action Plan The plan comprises a list of 60 action points under five headings described as “reasonably practicable”. The several sections cover quieter aircraft, balance against carbon emissions, noise mitigation schemes, consulting local communities, influencing planning policy, and research.- Many of proposals are subject to present economic conditions. Operators have little scope to invest in newer, quieter aircraft.
- Compared with the total of emissions from all sources, the reduction in those from aircraft would be barely perceptible.
- A 4-year time scale to agree a system to penalise violators of noise regulations is hardly ambitious.
- Whether the control noise violations is rigorous enough or the penalties severe enough is hard to judge from the data provided.
- Targeting through ‘lobbying’ and ‘seeking to promote’ with others in the airline industry to implement quieter practices and equipment is worthy but the greatest pressure will be public objections to unnecessary noise.
- Promises to make data available to interested parties and for regular consultations with local organisations have a simple PR context.
- Discovering that Heathrow is less noisy than Rome but louder than Schipol is interesting but what actions will be taken as a consequence of such findings is more important.