Bosses’ pledge on flight path move.

Noise, pollution and flying times all concerns raised to airport bosses

Airport bosses have insisted they will listen to fears over proposed flight path changes after more than a quarter of responses to a consultation came from worried Fifers.

Almost 4,000 replies were received over Edinburgh Airport’s proposals for airspace redesign.

A new report on the second consultation has now been published, detailing who responded, where they were and what they said.

The details are expected to help shape Edinburgh Airport’s proposals and recommendations to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) later this summer.

However, it’s clear there is a huge strength of feeling in Fife over what’s planned in the skies above the Kingdom, with Fife representing 28% of the total respondents.

A total of 1,085 individuals, eight organisations and three officials from there responded, ranging from Kinghorn to North Queensferry, second only to 1,579 individuals who are based in West Lothian.

And more than half the comments (51%) originating from Fife were against the proposed changes.

Most of the problems raised by individuals in the kingdom centred on the noise of aircraft, the impact on local communities and the environment, and air pollution, plus flying times.

There were complaints about a lack of consultation in places like North Queensferry, where it was claimed there had been no meetings set up or even basic information provided.

Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “A change in Edinburgh’s airspace is much needed in order to follow the current modernisation of all airspace across the UK, as well as building capacity to meet current and future demand.

“But it must be balanced and managed in a way that benefits Edinburgh and Scotland as a whole and minimises the impact on local communities.

“That’s why the rich and informed conversations we’ve had have been so important – to inform, debate and scrutinise. We acknowledge that some mistakes have been made and they have been embarrassing for us but we have learned from and rectified them.

“However, we are confident they did not impair the overall completeness of the consultation. We have been open in identifying them and tenacious in our attempts to fix them.

“We have actively listened and had those discussions – full-blooded at times – to gain a greater understanding of the public’s view on these proposals, which was the key aim from this second consultation.

“We now have these views and will carefully consider them.”

He added: “I want to personally thank everyone who has engaged with and taken an interest in our Airspace Change Programme.

“It has enriched our understanding of your concerns and opinions about the options we set out. I assure you we have listened to you and your views loud and clear.”

While 51% of the Fife comments were negative, airport bosses will have been buoyed by the fact 25% were positive – with a further 24% deemed to have taken a neutral stance.

Some also argued that the consultation was based on the 2011 Census and did not take into account new house-building in west Fife.

“We have actively listened and had discussions – fullblooded at times. GORDON DEWAR, EDINBURGH AIRPORT CHIEF EXECUTIVE