Greg Hands MP has welcomed the news that the Government will not increase night flights landing at Heathrow before 6am, following representations he made to the Transport Secretary last year.
Last year, Greg wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLaughlin, on behalf of local residents, to oppose suggestions that could have doubled the number of flights landing between 5am and 6am. So called ‘early morning smoothing’ was proposed by Sir Howard Davis’s Airports Commission’s interim report in December 2013. It proposed a ‘smoothing’ process – which would move arrivals currently scheduled from 6am to 7am would be between 5am and 6am. This could have meant that from next year, the number of aircraft allowed to land at the airport before 6am each day would have increased from 16 to 35.
However, this week the Government announced that it would delay the decision on the early morning ‘smoothing’ until summer next year, when the commission publishes its final recommendations on new runways. The Transport Secretary also announced the other short term recommendations of the Commission will not be considered until after the next General Election and said existing night flight restrictions would remain in place until 2017.
This decision followed Greg’s intervention following the Airports Commission’s interim report. Greg was on the front bench of the House of Commons chamber to hear the statement of the Transport Secretary in December, and later wrote to Mr McLaughlin saying ‘I am however concerned by the proposals for the ‘smoothing’ of the early morning arrival schedule, which could see additional planes landing at Heathrow before 6.00am. I continue to oppose any increase in night flights’.
Following the decision not to bring in additional flights before 6am, Greg said: “I am delighted that the Department of Transport has listened to my representations, and those from other local residents, by not implementing these extra night flights.
“Chelsea & Fulham, like many other areas across west London, must face, on a daily basis, more than a thousand planes coming in to land at Heathrow. This includes night flights which land before 6 am and disturb the sleep of residents every night.
“As Member for Parliament for Hammersmith & Fulham since 2005 and Chelsea & Fulham since 2010, as well as a local Fulham resident since 1990, aircraft noise is a regular source of complaint in my constituency. I will continue to push for a comprehensive ban on night flights at Heathrow from 11pm to 6am, to be brought in at the earliest opportunity.”
The Government decision to postpone ‘smoothing’ was accompanied by confirmation that it will maintain the existing restrictions on night flights at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, which was due to expire this October, for a further three years until October 2017, as well as extending the ban on rare movements made by older noisier types of aircraft.
Transport Secretary, Patrick McLaughlin, said “This decision will help give certainty around the night noise environment for those living near the airports, as well as ensuring operational capacity at these airports is not affected pending decisions on any new airport capacity in light of the commission’s final report.”
You can read Greg’s full reaction to the Airports Commission’s interim report on aviation capacity from December 2013 here.
The Airports Commission is due to make its final recommendation on the UK’s aviation capacity needs next summer, shortly after the General Election.