Friends of the Earth applauded the decision of the House of Lords on 8
March 2006 to oppose an increase in night flights.
The occasion was the hearing of the Civil Aviation Bill in the House of
Lords, in which the government proposes to delete the requirement for
the Secretary of State to set a limit on the number or night flights at
Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. The government wanted to rely on just a
'noise quota' to constrain night noise [Note 1]
Nic Ferriday, spokesperson for West London Friends of the Earth, said
"For those who are woken up or kept awake by night flights, a cap on the
numbers of those flights is critical. The government's proposal to
remove any limit on the number of night flights is
monstrous."
The use of only a 'noise quota' quota has been heavily criticised by
residents, councillors and MPs alike. These criticisms were reiterated
in the lobby at the House of Lords prior to the debate. [Note 2]
Nic Ferriday continued "The government pretends that a noise quota is
sufficient to prevent increasing noise nuisance, while knowing it is not
true. Its attempt in the Civil Aviation Bill to abolish any limit on the
number of night flights, thereby allowing more sleep deprivation, is
deeply cynical.
Contact Nic Ferriday 020-8357 8426 Mobile
07851
196906
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. The law currently requires a limit to be set on both the number of
night flights and the total noise those flights make. The limit on total
noise is the 'noise quota'.
2. The noise quota is based on the noise energy of the aircraft flying
at night from averaged out over the whole night. But this average bears
little relationship to the disturbance caused. Under just a noise quota,
it would be possible to double the number of night flights if the
individual aircraft were just 3 decibels quieter. But a 3 decibel
reduction sounds only slightly quieter to the human ear. Twice as many
planes which are only slightly quieter would mean far more disturbance.
8 March 2006