The government has announced measures to cut the noise allowed from night flights at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.
Ministers said the measures will encourage the use of quieter aircraft to limit the number of people significantly affected by aircraft noise at night. But there will be no changes to the total number of overnight flights that are permitted.
Current night flight restrictions at the three airports expire in October 2017, and the new rules will last for the next 5 years up to 2022.
Measures out for consultation include:
- Reducing the total noise quota at Heathrow Airport by at least 43% in the winter and 50% in the summer
- Reducing noise quotas at Gatwick by at least 17% in the winter and 21% in the summer
- Setting a strict cap at existing levels for the number of night flights from Heathrow and Gatwick
- Ending exemptions for almost 1700 night flights operating out of Stansted by including these in the new cap, setting a strict limit which the airport cannot exceed
The new guidelines, which will run up until 2022, have no impact on the planned expansion of Heathrow.
A public consultation will be launched on the new proposals, however John Stewart of campaign group HACAN said local residents would be “very disappointed” with the plans, adding they would make “little difference”.
He said: “My initial thoughts are that residents under the Heathrow flight path will be very disappointed.
“Their early morning wake-up call remains the first flight at 4.30am.
“The same number of planes will be getting a little bit quieter. The next few years will be exactly the same as the last few years.”
Aviation Minister Lord Ahmad said: “This government is committed to tackling the issue of aircraft noise, especially flights at night, which can be a blight for people living near airports.
“Night flights are, however, important to the economy, creating extra choice for passengers and moving freight, and we need to carefully balance the needs of local communities with the benefits these flights can bring.
“That’s why we are encouraging the use of quieter aircraft by bringing in tighter noise quotas at the airports and setting strict caps on aircraft movements at night.”
The consultation will run until February 28 2017, after which responses will be reviewed and a final decision on night flights will be published.