How we all love this map...

It's the gift that just keeps giving. This little map has brought so much pleasure to so many people...

It's so simple and clear. There's the flightpath, and there are little markers showing where the TDC councillors live. They're the ones who will decide whether the 80,000 people in Ramsgate, Herne Bay and the villages in between will have to live with night flights.

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Tens of thousands of people have had a good hard look at this map. Click it and have a look for yourself...

bit.ly/p8OsEl

• Aug 31, 2011: over 45,000 views.
• Sep 5, 2011: over 46,000 views.
• Sep 14, 2011: over 47,000 views.
• Sep 24, 2011: over 48,000 views.
• Sep 26, 2011: over 49,000 views.
• Oct 5, 2011: over 50,000 views.
• Oct 19, 2011: over 51,000 views.
• Nov 3, 2011: over 52,000 views.
• Nov 5, 2011: over 53,000 views.
• Nov 7, 2011: over 54,000 views.
• Nov 9, 2011: over 55,000 views.
• Nov 11, 2011: over 56,000 views.
• Nov 14, 2011: over 57,000 views.
• Nov 17, 2011: over 58,000 views.
• Nov 20, 2011: over 59,000 views.
• Dec 12, 2011: over 60,000 views.

Comments

[Stargazer]

The human rights act says we all have the right to sleep at night,None of our councilors have the right to deprive us of a nights sleep,a consultation where 2/3 of the people never hear a plane is grossly unfair if it cmes to protest marches lets hope we do as well as the animal rights protestors it is time the air monitoring figures were published as are the bathing water quality ones Oh sorry I forgot all the monitors have been taken out and never replaced.
Stargazer.

[KENTBOY.]

Most interesting point that I do not think has been raised is that we are all for tourist in our area, all we will be able to offer them is holiday complete with nights spoilt by noise, so where will the tourist go? certainly not back to Thanet again. Another lost income. Think again.

[The equalizer]

As an avid planespotter I propose that we should restrict ALL planes to daytime flying because my binoculars don't work at night and this will seriously breach my human rights as a spotter.

[Lark]

I run a holiday let business, with the property smack bang under the flight path. We have 30 different bookings a year with potentially 180 visitors, all spending money in the area. If night flights get the go ahead, that will be 180 less visitors to Thanet.

[Terry Kendall]

I have just viewed the proposed flight path. I live in Beltinge (the Reculver end) and planes flying into Manston fly directly over my house. Looking at the proposed flightpath planes will no longer fly over my house or is the shown flightpath not quite right?

[Local businesswoman]

Sorry to break the bad news, Terry, but if you're on the flight path now, you'll still be on the flight path at night. We know that planes are capable of coming in southbound over the much less populated part of Reculver by the Wantsum Channel and then turning eastwards to Manston, thus disturbing fewer people, but Manston doesn't want to set that as its preferred flight path in case it gets a reputation as being "difficult". The only difference with night flights is that you'll hear them more clearly because there is less ambient noise around to mask them.

And I'm absolutely with those who comment that night flights will hurt tourism. I want to invest more in the area now...but I have no intention of doing so until I know there won't be scheduled night flights. So, the airport and the Council are already harming the area by allowing this debate to drag on and on.

[HBM]

Terry: it's one of those theory and practice things... The line on the map shows exactly where the planes should be, you know from first hand experience where they actually fly.

The difference between the two is a daily testament to the pilots' skills and the precision of Manston's air traffic control.

[Sue Brookes]

First of all I undertstand that Manston and Gatwick air traffic control are involved. Therefore planes are sent over Detling towards Herne Bay and then the flight path is way out from your map. My family and I are furious with these huge planes flying directly over The Studd Hill Estate and as I have stated before they are so low sometimes the pilot can be seen. The map shows flight path coming in from the sea - THIS IS NOT THE CASE. I am not a NIMBE but it is clear that the flightpath is seriously not followed during the day so God help us with the night flights. As well as pollution our peaceful surroundings, as well as the rest of the flight path, have gone! - in the Studd Hill area (plus most of Herne Bay) I feel that the houses are now blighted if we want to sell up and move, it really is that bad. Do I phone every time a plane is off course and complain? Also I really worry about birds getting in the engine/s because there is a very large amount of seagulls in this area - what a disaster that would be!! Manston Airport as far as I'm concerned is a disaster waiting to happen.

[D manser]

To whom it may concern

I write in response to your article about the proposed changes to the night flight regulations at Manston.
I live in Herne Bay and I object in the strongest terms to these proposals. The Manston management cannot be trusted to keep to these agreement, the current agreement is broken all the time, just a few nights ago they had a very noisy plane going over us and that was some 40 minutes after the cutoff time of 23:00 I checked the aircrafts identification on an iPhone app and it was a freight flight from Nigeria. (Which I tracked and watched land at Manston)
If these people are given more hours they will break that agreement as well, I have spoken to the airport in the past when this has happened and they were dismissive and just quoted "operational conditions" caused the aircraft to be delayed which will always be the excuse in the future when the aircraft fail to arrive on time.
There should be NO night flights at all, nothing after 19:00 hrs with a 2 hour error proviso so they can aim to arrive at 19:00 and if delayed will not disturb the sleep of the population of Herne Bay, Ramsgate and other smaller town and villages.
I should like to hear from Charles Buchanan who has said in the newspaper on the 3rd November that night flights would create 3,000 jobs .. where? Not at Manston thats for sure... and where would these people come from? Is he guaranteeing to train and employ 3,000 people from this area, I can't see that happening.
He would most likely bring in people already trained in the jobs (if there were any jobs) from other areas which would do our area no good at all and simply line his already bulging pockets.
And by saying it will cost the local economy £30 million pounds and could close Manston and cost 1,400 jobs, what 1,400 jobs? Is he saying that there are 1,400 people working at Manston now...
He is simply trying to bully and cajole us into agreeing to his money making schemes.
He should be prevented from exploiting and disturbing us any further we deserve our peace and quiet I certain that Mr Buchanan would not like to live under a flight path well we don't want to either.