Night flying proposal 2010

So here it is...

Infratil have finally, after 13 months of waiting, given us a figure on the flights they expect to operate at night. To summarise:

• They wish to extend unrestricted operational hours from 0700-2300 to 0600-2330
• Between 2330-0600 they now wish to operate scheduled aircraft which were not allowed under the previous agreement
• Aircraft up to a 747 will be allowed to operate between 2330-0600
• The numbers allowed will be up to 3 747's per night between 2330 and 0600, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
• The very noisiest planes will be allowed to operate within these times with a meagre fine for doing so
• East Midlands fines the noisiest planes £5,000-£10,000. Manston will fine these ageing aircraft only £500 to £1,000.
• The council are legally obliged to hold a public consultation.
• All documents released by the council can be found here.

Please stay tuned to this blog for further updates. Comments have been turned on. Feel free to vent your spleen. We are actively looking for people wanting to join in with fighting this totally unnecessary and life changing blight on towns and villages in East Kent. Sign the petition, tell your neighbours, keep your eyes and ears open for events and public meetings, but most of all, tell the council exactly what you feel.

Comments

[Anonymous]

Very important that people understand exactly what is being proposed. In my opinion, the policy, as presented to the Council, allows pretty much anything to go on. The few restrictions it includes are not substantive and the penalties are derisory.

What do we get for allowing our town to be decimated by night-time noise and pollution? Well, not a lot really. A handful of real jobs are predicted. Interestingly, at Monday's meeting, Paul Carter indicated that he was estimating that as few as 5-10% of the jobs created would go to local people. The airport director jumped in to contradict him, but I think the cat's out of the bag.