Airport’s flight plans temporarily grounded

Controversial plans for new flight paths to and from Edinburgh Airport have been put on hold.

The airport intended to create new routes which it said were needed to meet demand.

However, the Civil Aviation Authority, which had to approve the changes, has halted its review of the proposal.

It has asked the airport to address a number of technical and coordination issues.

People in several Fife places under the proposed routes, including North Queensferry and Dalgety Bay, feared they would suffer from the noise of a huge increase in air traffic.

Green MSP Mark Ruskell welcomed what he admitted was a temporary reprieve: “These plans have been arrogantly rushed through by Edinburgh Airport and the result has been flaws at every stage of the consultation.

“Now we learn that even the technical aspects of the proposal were not up to scratch and we’re pleased to see the CAA taking their duty as regulators seriously and putting a halt to these plans.

“This is only a temporary reprieve for local communities though, as the airport can still resubmit their application.”

In May a coalition of community councils and politicians urged the CAA to halt the process, claiming a lack of clarity in the proposals.

They said it was unclear how many flights would be passing overhead, at what time and what the noise and environmental impact would be.

An airport spokesman said: “It is clear that all of this needs to be coordinated with NATS (National Air Traffic Services).

“We’re clear that our proposal is the best balance achievable in terms of surrounding communities and our operation and works for Edinburgh and Scotland.

“We’ll be working with NATS on the coordination issues to allow the CAA to restart its analysis so we can develop the airport for the future.”