HEATHROW DUMPS MORE NOISE UNDER NORTHERN RUNWAY FLIGHTPATH

Residents and Stop Heathrow Expansion supporters have reacted angrily to news received, with no notice or consultation whatsoever, of a substantial increase in noise brought about by the immediate closure of Heathrow’s southern runway.

Heathrow has confirmed that it will only be using one of its two runways from today (13 July) for up to three months. The southern runway at the airport will be closed completely until August in order to enable works to take place, with closures between 7pm and 7am every day from August until October.

This concentration of all operations on the northern runway will be miserable news to those living under and around the northern runway flightpath, as they will experience a substantial increase in the noise generated by Heathrow’s operations, particularly in the evenings, at night – where limited flights still take off and land – and early in the morning.

Heathrow have had three months of significantly fewer flights and now they choose the time where flights are picking up to close a runway. We are calling for Heathrow to offer those that will now experience an increase in noise – just as flight numbers are increasing – a better deal, such as ceasing operations at night, from 11pm until 6am while this work takes place. They could even go a step further and make the measure permanent.

Heathrow scaled down the use of the runways at the beginning of April, with the introduction of “mixed mode”, allowing aircraft to both land and take off on the same runway, with runway use alternating every Monday. 

We have previously argued that the use of mixed mode could become the new norm if Heathrow seek to use this method of operating permanently, post-pandemic, as a way of increasing the current flight cap of 480,000, to an estimated 565,000 flights per year. It could mean expansion by stealth. Heathrow must not be allowed to expand in this or any other way.

The southern runway is planned to reopen fully in October, just as the Supreme Court will hear an appeal by Heathrow Airport on its bid for a third runway. 

The appeal has been brought by Heathrow following the Court of Appeal’s ruling in February 2020, which stated that Heathrow expansion was unlawful, as the Government failed to take into account the Paris climate change Agreement when it drew up its Airport National Policy Statement – the document which enables Heathrow expansion to take place.