GETTING WORSE

In July 2013, there was a proposal submitted which documents the addition of a 3rd runway in the north west area of the existing airport. Along with the impact of displacing local commercial properties due to the 3,500M length, there will be an additional Terminal (T6), extension work done to Terminal 2 (T2), additional car parking.

It has been estimated by the BAA (British Airports Authority) that the new runway would provide up to an additional 740,000 flights per annum, the current potential is 477,000 fpa.

A calculation based on the 22 most popular models of Beoing aircraft and their associatied statistics means that we can calculate the average CO₂ emission per air mile as 53.3lbs. Bearing in mind the most popular route from Heathrow Airport is Heathrow (LHR) – New York – John F Kennedy (JFK), which is a one way flight distance of 3,446 miles, meaning a single flight to JFK from Heathrow produces 81 Tons of CO₂. Heathrow currently operates 30 flights per day to JFK.

Heathrow Airport have created a list of ‘pledges’, in which it claims, amongst other things:

Reduce aircraft noise and lessen noise impacts for people under flight paths

by encouraging the world’s quietest aircraft to use Heathrow, routing aircraft higher over London, delivering periods with no aircraft overhead and allocating £250m to provide noise insulation

Treat those most affected by a third runway fairly

by proposing compensation of 25% above market value, all legal fees, and stamp duty costs for a new home for anyone whose home needs to be purchased

Also, addressing the issue of vehicle traffic, they pledge to:

Increase the proportion of passengers using public transport to access Heathrow to more than 50%

by supporting new rail, bus and coach schemes to improve public transport to Heathrow and considering the case for a congestion charge.

you can read more about the proposed changes here, download their promises (PDF The Promise of Heathrow) or view more about their “Working towards a quieter Heathrow”.

A similar proposal has been made for adding a second runway to Gatwick Airport.

One of the big commitments made by Heathrow Airport was a 1000ft requirement, meaning all air vehicle traffic, must, within 6.5km of the end of either runway, be at a 1000ft minimum height, to reduce impact on the local residents and general environment, in the third quarter of 2015, there was 288 violations of this rule, the main perpetrator being British Airways, with 102 of those violations. Of the 288 violations 54 of those were not over 900ft.