Dr Lee and I met with a representative of NATs management on 18 March to discuss the changes they made without consultation to routes of planes on easterly operations.
NATs stated clearly that they had the power to make the changes they made. They did so to improve safety, seeking to segregate planes flying into and out of the airport to and from the west. They also claimed that it allowed planes to climb higher sooner, which should reduce the noise from any individual plane. I explained that we had not felt the benefit, with the numbers of planes adding to perceptions of noise.
They agreed that the adverse reaction of the public had not been properly anticipated, but seemed unwilling to go back to previous procedures. I told them that what we wish to see is proper collaboration between NATs, the airport and its users, to tackle the problem of noise more positively. I repeated the agenda I had outlined to Heathrow in the meeting I held with them.
March 23, 2015
John
I should have thought that airline noise is not a problem in the Wokingham area. You will probably reply that we have been used to living on or close to an airfield and that I am also deaf! Both true, but airliners are normally at 2,000 ft above ground in our area on the approach to Heathrow’s easterly runway and are surely not a problem?
More of a noise nuisance are the smaller privately owned smaller aircraft which should be at 1,000ft but very often are much lower.
Reply It is a real issue and many people are very un happy about current flightpaths and noise levels.