The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Flight path extension consultation denied
AIRPORT: Anger after direct request for more time to consider proposals for Fife residents is knocked back
The length of time and scope of this consultation, given there are clearly so many unanswered concerns, is wholly unacceptable. MP LESLEY LAIRD
Edinburgh Airport bosses have blocked a request to extend the consultation period for its controversial new flight path.
Residents and politicians had asked for more time to consider the complicated diagrams provided for the proposed E7a route.
Lesley Laird, MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, previously secured a public meeting for residents from Aberdour, Dalgety Bay, Inverkeithing and North Queensferry to air views.
But a direct request to the airport to extend the June 28 deadline for comments about the proposals has been rejected.
Calls to hold a second public meeting with representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority present were also dismissed.
Mrs Laird said: “A i r p o r t representatives were given a vital opportunity to act after gauging just how unpalatable this flight path proposal is and a chance to accept reasonable concessions which, to my mind, constitute a fair consultation process.
“Instead, the airport believes all questions were adequately addressed.
“I beg to differ, and I’ve no doubt many people in communities affected by the flight path will too.
“The length of time and scope of this consultation, given there are clearly so many unanswered concerns, is wholly unacceptable.”
The Labour MP asked airport planners to consider an alternative route which would see flights track an ascent east along the Forth, thereby gaining height before turning back on Fife, or missing Fife altogether.
The airport said it would gather all opinions during the consultation, re-examine previously considered options and assess all new suggestions.
“The airport claims they can’t propose a path which increases mileage, fuel burn or fuel consumption,” she said.
“But that should be weighed against the cost of blighting people’s lives.
“This is a minimal detour which provides immediate noise solutions and should be given the serious consideration it deserves.”
Mrs Laird is urging residents to submit questions when it does air and to remember to log comments through official channels before the consultation expires on June 28.
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport: “We are proposing a route that we believe strikes the right balance between our communities’ requirements, our operational requirements and the requirements of our regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority.
“It will also stop flight flying over the Fife coast at night. We’re receiving good response from the consultation and we will actively consider what we hear from communities and use that to help shape our final proposal.”
To access the consultation visit letsgofurther.com/