Flight paths overhaul ‘to ease air congestion’

Ministers outline plans to reduce noise as they warn traffic risks adding half an hour to journey times 2020 2025

FLIGHT paths across Britain are to be redrawn for the first time in 60 years as the Government warns that growing congestion in the skies will add half an hour to journey times in the next decade if nothing is done.

The planned overhaul of routes will reduce noise for people living near airports by allowing planes to take off and land more steeply, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.

Ministers have said the shake-up will cut fuel emissions by up to 20 per cent by reducing plane “stacking”, where aircraft have to circle airports as they wait for a slot to land.

However, residents’ groups warned that plans could provoke a “backlash”, as people learned that new flight paths would be going over their homes.

The announcement comes as MPs begin scrutiny of the Government’s aviation bill, which will give the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) powers to drive the overhaul forward by fining airports that do not cooperate.

Government figures show that air passengers are facing increasing delays as Britain’s flight paths, which were largely drawn up in the Fifties, are struggling to cope with the demands of modern aviation.

The flight path system was designed for aircraft built 60 years ago, which were less efficient and needed to fly closer to the ground due to their beacon-based navigation systems.

Modern planes can fly at higher altitudes and take off more steeply, while their precise tracking systems mean they can safely follow narrower flight paths.

The current system is also struggling to cope with the increasing weight of air traffic, which is predicted to rise by almost half ( 44 per cent), to 3.2million flights a year in 2030 up from 2.2million in 2015.

Government figures estimate that congestion causes an average delay of nine minutes per flight, but that is projected to rise to 26 minutes by 2030 if flight paths do not change.

In reality, the DfT says this will mean that more than one in three flights will depart more than 30 minutes late by 2030.

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said: “Using the latest technology to update our airspace will help cut frus

‘Some people will get planes flying overhead for the first time. So there may be a backlash’

trating delays, reduce the carbon footprint and reduce noise on the ground.

“Passengers returning home will face fewer frustrating delays by doing away with the polluting practice of ‘stacking’ aircraft in the skies near airports.

“Plus the new legislation will reduce noise for those on the ground by taking advantage of modern aircraft’s ability to climb and descend more steeply, meaning fewer residents will suffer from aircraft noise in future.” Under the current plans, every major commercial airport in the UK will have to draw up proposals for new flight paths to and from its runways.

Then NATS (formerly the National Air Traffic Services) will redraw all the flight paths from higher than 7,000ft.

All the proposals will be coordinated and approved by the CAA, with the Government able to veto specific proposals as they arise. Some airports, such as Heathrow, have already begun

‘Passengers returning home will face fewer frustrating delays’

consulting residents on how they go about their plans.

John Stewart, the chair of Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise, said he broadly welcomed the overhaul as it would allow for more dispersed flight paths that could give residents affected by noise “respite” hours.

He told The Sunday Telegraph: “The ideal in terms of respite would be that you cannot hear the planes at all [for that period], but it may not be possible.

There is a downside, because if you are going to give respite to some people currently affected there will be some areas where people will be getting planes for the first time. So there may be a bit of a backlash.”

A CAA spokesperson said: “Airspace is a crucial part of the UK’s infrastructure and it must be maintained and improved. Unlocking the benefits of modernisation will make journeys faster and more environmentally friendly.”