Manston Parish Council: night flights meeting

Hello,

My husband and I have been reading your newsletters with interest. When we moved to Manston in 2003, the level of activity at the airport was acceptable. However, we were totally unaware of the failed proposals that had been submitted in the past. We have been complaining to Infratil on a regular basis and, in line with comments from some of your subscribers, Infratil rarely acknowledged our complaint. We have since discovered that there are actually two links to two different complaint forms online. Since we have used your link, we have been receiving the usual standard reply, but we keep plugging!

For us, it's not "just" the night flights issue - often during the day the ghastly smell of jet fumes pervades our small development, and our houses (even with windows closed) and we have been concerned about pollution when jets linger on the apron. For my part, I am at home all day, so there is no escape for me!

We thought you might be interested to know (if you don't already!) that Manston Parish Council has convened a special meeting at 6pm at the Village Hall, Preston Road, on Friday 11 November. The Parish Council is keen to know the views of local residents in order to present "our" overall opinion to TDC.

There is a caveat on the invitation... The meeting is open only to Manston residents whose names appear on the current electoral role!

Kind regards,

Manston resident

Spread the word!

Our blog, our mailing list and our newsletter are the quickest and easiest ways we have of keeping people informed, and keeping in touch. Tell your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues to visit our website: www.NoNightFlights.info where they can join our mailing list.

If you already get our newsletter by email, do please forward the email to anyone you think would be interested. If they like it and want to get their own copy of the newsletter emailed to them weekly, all they need to do is click on the "SUBSCRIBE" link at the bottom of the newsletter.

Thank you.

Manston: "Airports could go out of business"

Some regional airports could go out of business if the Government fails to recognise their important role in easing the nation’s capacity crisis. That's the warning from Manston Airport chief executive Charles Buchanan.

He argues that direct and immediate action is needed to resolve the short and long-term airport capacity shortages at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted where new runways have been ruled out indefinitely. In Manston's submission to a consultation on aviation policy, he urges the Government to look to existing regional airports to buy time for longer term plans to be explored.

Click to read more ...

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.

Number-crunching

Charles Buchanan (CEO, Manston Airport) from the night flights proposal:

Today some 110 staff are employed by the airport, with approximately a further 40 employed in servicing the operation of the airport. The airport currently generates £4.5m GVA (Gross Added Value) of which some £3.8m is within the Thanet economy ... development in line with the published Master Plan would (by 2018) support direct employment of over 2,000 jobs with a further 1,000 indirect and induced jobs in the wider economy. This level of employment would generate £65m GVA.

Sandra Matthews-Marsh (CEO, Visit Kent) responding to RGF funding

Tourism in East Kent contributes more than £835 million to the local economy and supports almost 18,000 jobs.

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Now consider the effect that the proposed night flight timetable will have on tourism in East Kent.

Manston's 2012 schedule

Just to let you know what's coming, here's a timetable that Manston can start operating the day after TDC accepts their proposed night flying policy. 

Currently, daytime flying at the airport is completely free of restrictions regarding the numbers and noisiness of aircraft. Manston's new policy turns night into day. The first half-hour of night, and the last hour of night, would be as free of restrictions as the daytime.

Click to read more ...

Manston Aircraft Noise Maps

Here are the noise contour maps that Manston provided with their application. As you'll see, they didn't bother to provide a full set.

Click the maps to get a clearer view.

Boeing Jumbo 747-400

Click to read more ...

"Night flights would boost business in Thanet" says airport

Up to eight flights a night could take off and land at Kent International Airport, according to plans submitted to Thanet District Council. Bosses at the airport have submitted their long-awaited night-time flight policy, and campaigners now have 12 weeks to have their say on the proposals.

Managers say allowing flights between 11pm and 7am would attract more business to the area. They are banned under the airport's current planning agreement with the council.

Click to read more ...

Manston makes night-time submission

A Kent airport has resubmitted its proposals for night flights. Manston airport, near Ramsgate, has asked Thanet Council for permission to run at least six flights between 11pm and 7am. Bosses said the plans would create around 3,000 jobs by 2018 and are vital for the long-term future of the company. Charles Buchanan, Chief Executive at Manston, commented:

"For the airport to be commercially viable in the longer term and deliver for Kent what other airports have done for their regions, it is vital that we are allowed to compete in terms of the operating hours."

Click to read more ...

Plans for Manston Airport night flights

A Kent airport is asking for permission to operate night flights. Manston Airport wants Thanet District Council to allow an average of eight take-offs or landings per night. The move would allow the operation to attract new airlines and a study suggested it could create more than 3,000 jobs.

But opponents fear it could pave the way for 24-hour arrivals and departures. The proposal is for three flights between 23:00 and 23:30, two flights between 23:30 and 06:00 and three between 06:00 and 07:00.

Click to read more ...

See the future, then decide

These two maps are taken from Manston's night flight proposal.

• The maps show the "sound footprint" of the airport.
• The top map is for 2010, the bottom map is their forecast for 2018.
• In 2018, the "sound footprint" is bigger and louder.
• The blue squiggly lines around the runway are noise contours.
• In both maps the outermost blue line represents the 48dB contour.
• In the top map, the 48dB contour is 300 yards from the end of the runway.
• In the bottom map, the 48dB contour stretches a mile out to sea.
• In 2018, most of Ramsgate will feel like they're living next to the runway.
• This is your future if your Council gives in to Manston's demands.

Click to read more ...

The Night Flight Proposals 2011

Click the links to view the documents, or to download your very own copy. More documents, and scathing analysis to follow...

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There should be a neat widget-type thing above this line showing you a list of the proposal documents. If there isn't click HERE to see them in the NoNightFlights archive.

Oh. There goes another one.

28th October 2011 at 23:30 over Herne Bay

A noisy cargo plane, which Manston's complaints department will undoubtedly tell me is a late arrival.

I learn from Twitter it was N383WA, a World Cargo Airways McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

As well as being one of the noisier planes to use Manston, the MD-11 is an incomprehensibly badly designed plane with a startlingly poor accident and safety record.

Visit www.airlinesafety.com for full details. I warn you, this is not for the faint-hearted.

Woken in the small hours, 25th October

Hi There,

Just to let you know that we were woken at exactly 03:00 Wednesday 26 October with a very noisy night flight over Beltinge, Herne Bay.  As my husband has to get up at 04:40 for a train to London he was not best pleased.

Best regards,

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Hi,

I complained via Manston's website and received an almost instant reply... "we are sorry you have had cause to complain etc."

The plane was a Cargolux B744 QC2. Hope this helps.

Kind Regards,

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Hi there, I emailed you the other day about a night flight and then last night I was woken up by a plane at 3am. I'm sure I can't have been the only person...

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Night Flight proposals to be outlined on Radio Kent 28th October 11am

Charles Buchanan will be giving the Night Flights new proposal to TDC Friday 28th October (as if they haven't had it for a while already!) and will be announcing the highlights on BBC Radio Kent - 96.7FM and 104.2FM and DAB.

BBC Radio Kent are having a "travel day" special on 28th October, and will be devoting 11am - 12 noon to Manston Airport. It will start with Buchanan talking through the highlights of the new proposals. I will be locked in a Radio Kent broom cupboard in Broadstairs with a mike and headphones, and being asked to comment on the proposals.

It appears that the proposals equate to an AVERAGE of 1.8 flights a night between 11:30pm and 6:00am.

If any of you have any experience of, or handy tips for, doing radio interviews, do let me know. Similarly, any sound bites (or good jokes) would be welcome.

It comes as no surprise to me that Charles Buchanan did NOT choose to announce these proposals at last week's KIACC meeting.

Clown makes a serious point

An irate clown was in no mood for jokes when he arrived at Manston airport on Friday to highlight the "circus" over night-time flying. Sporting a wig, tartan suit and painted clown face, protester Malcolm Kirkaldie attended a meeting of the Kent International Airport Consultative Committee.

Mr Kirkaldie, a former committee member before he resigned in disgust this year, said Thanet council's failure to properly monitor night flights had made a mockery of the 106 agreement with New Zealand-based operators Infratil. He said:

"Given the recent events at the Airport Working Party and the admission of certain failures in the 106 agreement and monitoring, it has turned into a bit of a circus – so I thought how appropriate to dress up as a clown."

Click to read more ...

That KIACC meeting, in a nutshell

For those of you who had better things to do on Friday evening, you can find out what you missed here:

Ramsgate Rat merrily blogging away for the last year or so on all things Ramsgatey and ratty, has produced a very readable write-up of the evenings jollities, and local newshound Andrew Woodman who was scampering about with a digital doo-dah and has captured the best moments on video, and put them on video-sharing website Bambuser.

One of the many important points that arose, that I would like you all to think about, was the question of representation on the KIACC committee. There's plenty of councillors (I mean LOTS of councillors), and there's the airport. Not much in the way of people (i.e. residents) or independent experts. This has to change.

For people/residents, I think a representative from NoNightFlights would provide some much-needed balance to the blanket pro-airport stance of some councillors.

For independence and expertise, I think the obvious option is CPRE Protect Kent. They know their onions, and they're not anti-airport (so no objection from Manston), but they are anti-night flight (hurrah).

The constitution of the KIACC committee is under review, so now is the time for all good men and women to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboards) and contact KIACC at this address:

secretary.manstonkiacc@talktalk.net

to nominate some new faces on the committee. If you don't make any suggestions, we'll be stuck forever with what we had on Friday... The decision is yours!

Does Manston already have a night flight schedule?

The proof may be sitting in your email account

If we all get cracking on this, we may be able to present our case to Infratil and TDC at Friday's KIACC meeting.

The infuriatingly poor responses that are churned out by Manston's complaints department do actually contain tiny grains of truth. With enough of these facts in one place, we can piece together an accurate picture of what's really happening.

Most email programs will let you search by sender, or by contents. Have a search through your emails for anything that came from one of these addresses:

elaine.tanner@kia-m.com
elaine.tanner@manstonairport.com
customer.services@kia-m.com
customer.services@manstonairport.com

or anything that contains the phrase:

cause to complain about the operation of the Airport

We all know that most of what appears in the email is the same old nonsense every time. The important bit that we're interested in is the stuff that usually appears in a little box about a third of the way down - the details of the flight(s) you complained about.

These are the details that we would like you to send in: the Date, the Time, the Operator and flight details, and any other comments that Manston included about the flight(s). Even if you've only got one of these emails left on your PC, please send us the details, because taken together with all the rest it will help complete the jigsaw.

We're particularly interested in Cargolux, Iran Air and Egypt Air flights, but every piece of information you send us will be useful, and much appreciated.

Send whatever you've got to: NoNightFlights@gmail.com

KIACC 21st October

KENT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
MEETING IN PUBLIC
Friday 21st October 2011, 7pm
Airport Departure Lounge, Manston Airport

AGENDA

1. Chairman's welcome & opening
2. Minutes of last meeting
3. Matters Arising
4. Short presentations from Community Fund recipients
5. Report from the Airport Management (Charles Buchanan, CEO Manston Airport)
6. The Leader of Thanet District Council, Cllr Bayford has been invited to address the meeting at this point
7. Opportunity for comments from the Public

[click the poster below to download a copy]

Send your questions to:

secretary.manstonkiacc@talktalk.net

KIACC meeting

There will be a "meeting in public" of KIACC (the airport consultative committee) on Friday 21st October. The time has yet to be confirmed, but in will be in the evening, after they've had their "meeting in private", probably starting some time between 6pm and 8pm.

Full details will be posted here as soon as they're made public.

We are expecting Charles Buchanan, Cllr Bob Bayford, Madeline Homer, and a host of other local celebrities!

It is now traditional to wear a red item of clothing if you are against night flights.