Gatwick Airport – Crawley Observer

Campaign Goes to Westminster
10th June 2015 – Crawley Observer
website www.crawleyobserver.co.uk

By Tim Harris
email tim.harris@jpress.co.uk
phone 01403 751225

rsz_handing_in_flight_path_letter_at_dft

Protesters Outside the Department of Transport

Fourteen action groups based near Gatwick Heathrow or London City Airport took their complaints to central Government on Monday June 1st.

They say tens of thousands of people have been badly affected by noise from experimental changes to airline flight paths.

Campaigners are calling for the Government to change its policies to reduce the impact of aircraft noise on residents, and to put residents’ health, wellbeing and family life before aviation industry profits.

A statement from the joint campaign group said: “The airspace changes are part of a Europe-wide programme to make more effective use of airspace and are now impacting the whole of the UK. They are designed to enable airlines to save fuel, to allow aircraft to land at, and depart from airports more efficiently but give little, if any, consideration to the impact the changes have, and will have on communities.

“In the UK Gatwick and London City have been earmarked as first in line for the changes. Heathrow is expected to have its changes in place by 2019 with national changes by 2020.

Residents fear that the changes will result in excessive concentration of aircraft along selected routes with no consideration for the impact the changes have on health and wellbeing of residents.”

Brendon Sewill, chairman of Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, said:’We cannot see how any airport expansion can go forward with the anger that is being vented at all airport operators due to the current airspace changes.

“All the protest groups coming together should send a clear message to the Government that residents are fed up with being ignored and that they will not be disregarded.”

Copies of their joint statement, endorsed by groups representing communities of Kent, Mid Sussex, East Sussex, West Sussex, Middlesex, Berkshire, Surrey, and London boroughs, were handed to the Department for Transport and to the Prime Minister.

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