You say (33)

#Manston #nightflights

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I would like to say I am AGAINST night flights during the hours proposed between 11pm and 7am over Thanet.

We have a successful hotel with a strong customer base. Guests come for the peace and quiet of the seaside, an important part of a good vacation, includes being able NOT to be disturbed during these hours.

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Click to have your say in the Public Consultation on Night Flights

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I wish to declare that I am totally AGAINST any night flights between 11.00 pm and 7.00 am at Manston airport.

NOISE:

The noise projected from these over-sized planes is horrendous and is completely underestimated by the airport authorities and their advisers. QC 2 is VERY LOUD and will always wake everyone up, whilst QC 4 is UNBEARABLE and is not allowed at other airports during the night.

This country benefits from noise abatement between 11.00 pm and 7.00 am. Loud parties, music, car horns, sirens, shouting or drunken behaviour are not allowed by law. Why should air flights be the exception?

SAFETY:

I believe the planes fly too low over the houses at all times. New flight paths should be developed before there is a major accident. Remember the Concorde in Paris and many other crashes onto houses around the world.

HEALTH:

It has been proved that the disturbance of sleep by noise is detrimental to the health of both humans and other animals.

POLLUTION:

There was a time when doctors sent sick people from London and elsewhere to Ramsgate where the air and sea were considered to improve their convalescence. Now it appears the councillors wish to bring to Ramsgate people from around the world to pollute the atmosphere to the best of their abilities. Our plants are covered with aviation fuel and the water in our bird baths turns red.

JOBS etc:

Manston will never provide the jobs or numbers of passengers as described in their documents.

FORGOTTEN TOWN:

I implore the councils and the government not to turn Ramsgate into a forgotten, worthless town where good quality of life, sleep and environment are of no concern to them. Ramsgate has a history of holiday making and healthy living with a splendid Royal Harbour, beaches and architecture, which should be promoted instead of the airport.

COUNCIL ACTION:

I am appalled that our elected councillors have thrown in the towel and admitted that there is nothing they can do to rectify the mistake of the 106 agreement that clearly allows unlimited night flights.

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Click to have your say in the Public Consultation on Night Flights

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I wish to state that I AM TOTALLY OPPOSED to night flights in and out of Manston between 11:00pm and 7:00am.

The noise from night-time flights would undoubtedly be very disturbing and many of the population of Thanet will be badly affected. Sleep deprivation is widely accepted as a major factor in health problems such as, depression, aggressive behaviour, hypertension and attention deficit in people of all ages, which in turn may have serious consequences.

I and my family lived in Stevenage for 10 years from 1972 and have firsthand experience of the detrimental effects of disrupted sleep patterns. Our home was 3 miles off the flight path into Luton airport. Most of the air traffic at that time was extremely noisy holiday charter flights. From around 1978 the number of flights increased rapidly. Frequently, many holiday flights in and out of Luton were delayed resulting in landings through-out the night. Nights with little or no sleep for the entire family were quite common. We became so fed up with it, I quit my job as a software engineer with ICL, sold our house for much less than it would have been valued elsewhere and moved out. Many of my work colleagues did the same. We have never been back.

In recent years the commercial aircraft fleets are getting noisier as larger types come into service. There is little prospect of aircraft getting quieter, in part because even larger aircraft are in the pipeline and because engine technology has pretty well ceased to progress. The aviation industry always claims quieter engines while forgetting that half of the movements are arrivals where airframe noise is crucial and nothing has changed significantly for tens of years

In my opinion the introduction of night flights at Manston would have a negative effect on the regeneration of Ramsgate and other parts of Thanet . I am not convinced by the exaggerated claims by Infratil of the economic benefits and job creation in the region. Independent economic experts are of the same opinion.

With increasing competition between airlines the trend is to adopt the low cost model resulting in a FALL in airport employment. What is not so generally realised is that there is a parallel move to ‘low cost airports’ with tickets bought on the internet; check-in done electronically, and baggage handling increasingly automated, so that the same number of airport staff can handle far more passengers. Heathrow Terminal 5 was designed as a self-service terminal - with as many as nine out of ten passengers having no need to contact members of staff until they reach boarding gates. The future may see a move to an even more simplified type of airport. Baggage will be checked-in at the car park, passengers will go straight to the gate room with the security checks carried out just before boarding. That is the Ryanair and “Sqeezy-Jet” model.

Like ‘sex’, the word ‘jobs’ makes an excellent media headline: short, sharp and emotive. With the current recession, when thousands are losing their jobs and millions fear that they may do so, any promise of more jobs is bound to be enthusiastically received. Thus the suggestion by Infratil that an expanded airport will create more jobs is a sure way to attract support from the public and a fair wind from the politicians and planners. Yet because they have a commercial interest in magnifying the number of new jobs, their figures need careful examination. False hopes can prove a cruel hoax.

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Click to have your say in the Public Consultation on Night Flights

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