You may have heard recently about the projected expansion at Heathrow airport. The airport has proposed to have a third runway built. Airport commissions have backed the proposed expansion but environmental pollution concerns have been raised.
There is concern about the added noise pollution, with even more traffic and the sound of airports taking off and arriving. There are concerns about air pollution, because residents in the area already have to deal with increased traffic and noise. There have been a number of solutions proposed in order to reduce concern regarding these issues.
Another airport in general has been proposed to ease the congestion and solve the problem of noise for the residents. Another idea is to increase the capacity at Gatwick Airport, a direct competitor to Heathrow, as well as to have flights between 23:30 to 06:00 suspended in order to reduce noise pollution.
There have been protests from residents in the proposed area. As well as their concerns, there is worry about the levels of pollution no longer falling within the proposed guidelines for reduction in aviation pollution. So far, for the proposal falls within guidelines on paper, but it has neither been tested nor verified.
The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee wants to see concrete proof that there will be an air and noise pollution reduction. They want to increase trust between local residents and the government. This is important, as numbers of travel increase and residents are increasingly displaced and disturbed, it’s but a problem that will be solved anytime soon. We will keep our eye on this one and see what happens next.