More night-time noise for 2 years due to runway works at Heathrow. But who knew about it?
Press Release
4 September 2023
For immediate use
More night-time noise for 2 years due to runway works at Heathrow. But who knew about it?
From last night, 3 September 2023, until summer 2025, Heathrow Airport will operate in mixed mode between 2230 and 0600 from Sunday evenings to Friday mornings. This means all arriving and departing aircraft will use the same runway, unlike the usual pattern of operation (1).
The Airport says that for the initial phase of the work, all planes will use the northern runway on these five nights every week. The usual alternation between runways will continue on Friday and Saturday nights.
For residents under the northern runway flight paths, this will mean almost no respite from night-time noise from Heathrow airport flights during the initial phase of work, followed by those under southern runway flight paths after that.
The Airport says that “since Heathrow has relatively few night flights, this won’t impact many aircraft”. Stop Heathrow Expansion disagree. Just in the last week of August, there were 76 extremely late departures after 2330, with some after 0100 (2). The last scheduled departure at Heathrow is at 2250. Only about half of these extremely late departures were as a result of the disruption caused by the air traffic chaos on 28 and 29 August, with many extremely late departures happening before this incident occurred. As aircraft begin to arrive from the United States and the Far East from as early as 0430, or even before that over many parts of London. this means that even with normal flight patterns there are unacceptably limited quiet periods for too many people in London and the Thames Valley. Over Christmas, there will be a break in the works and all flights will use the southern runway at night.
Justine Bayley, Chair of Stop Heathrow Expansion, said:
“We accept that the runways need resurfacing works every decade or so, but it is frustrating that this work has to take so long. It will cause unacceptable levels of noise at night time without the respite runway alternation normally provides – so many London and Thames Valley residents who live underneath its flight paths will potentially have their sleep disturbed for months on end.
“The Airport has a duty to let as many people as possible know about this potentially serious impact on their sleep patterns before the event. Yet as the works commence, we see no visible signs of a pro-active information campaign reaching out to the communities affected.”
“For many years, our campaign has adopted the slogan that Heathrow should be ‘better, not bigger’. Sadly, once again it is not living up to the test of ‘better’.”
ENDS.
For more information, contact: Rob Barnstone on 07806 947050 or rob@stopheathrowexpansion.co.uk
Notes:
1) Heathrow runway resurfacing works https://www.heathrow.com/company/local-community/noise/news/runway-resurfacing
2) Extremely late departures after 2330 list https://twitter.com/DaveReidReading/status/1697877245593841848/photo/1
UPDATE: on 7 September, Heathrow announced that the runway works will now commence on 24 September.