Airport urged to cut noise of night flights

EAST Midlands Airport is being asked to take steps to reduce noise level at night.

The call came after the airport released its proposed Noise Action Plan for 2019-2023.

After considering the action plan, a council working party is calling for stronger action to be taken. While welcoming the social and economic benefits that the airport brings, concerns have been raised that the airport has become noisier at night between 2006 and 2016, a trend that is forecast to continue up to 2025.

It has also been noted that despite the airport previously setting a target for the withdrawal of older, noisier aircraft movements at night by 2012, they still accounted for 11 per cent of night-time operations in 2016.

As a result, the airport is being asked to set out clear timescales to implement the changes in full.

The working party, involving South Derbyshire District councillors, are calling for the plan to include:

Clear estimates of the reduction in people affected by noise (annoyed, sleep disturbed or other) at the end of the plan period.

Separate forecasts for growth in air traffic movements during the night (11pm to 7am), (7pm to 11pm) and daytime (7am to 7pm) periods.

A strategy explaining how individual actions will contribute toward the achievement of noise reduction objectives and setting out proposed timescales for implementation.

The noise action plan report states: “It is also clear that there are a number of opportunities which have developed since our last action plan, such as performance-based navigation and low noise arrivals.

“Both opportunities are expected to require changes to how the airspace around the airport is used and will require detailed discussion with the communities likely to be affected by this.”