Campaign group HACAN ClearSkies has praised the local authority organisation 2M (1) for publishing the likely flight paths to and from Heathrow if a third runway goes ahead (2) but has criticised the Department for Transport for refusing to produce official maps.
John Stewart, Chair of HACAN, said, “We congratulate the local authorities on taking this initiative. People are asking us all the time where the flight paths for a new runway will be. But it shouldn’t be down to the local authorities to come up with the information. The silence from the Department for Transport and BAA Ferrovial is deafening. They are treating the public with disdain. To say that a third runway is still some years off is no excuse for their inaction (3).”
The maps show that huge swathes of London and the Home Counties will be affected if a third runway is given the go-ahead. The third flight path will be north of the existing northern flight path, taking planes over Heston, the northern parts of Chiswick and Hammersmith and on to High Street Ken. Most of these areas are plane-free at the moment.
But the maps also show that the effects of the third runway will be felt over a much wider area. In order to cater for the extra planes that will be using the new runway, more areas further from Heathrow in North and South London and across the Home Counties will experience aircraft noise. The Government’s recent review of its 2003 Aviation White Paper admitted that a third runway could mean 720,000 flights using Heathrow each year, up from 473,000 last year.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
(1). Seven London boroughs and four authorities outside London, representing two million people living under the flight path, have joined together to form the 2M Group.
(2). See the maps below courtesy of 2M Group.
Heathrow Arrivals Map
Heathrow Departures Map
(3). The Government is expected to give the go-ahead for a third runway at the airport in the Spring when it publishes its report assessing future air pollution levels around Heathrow.
For further information contact
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650
Steve Mayner, Head of Public Affairs, Wandsworth Council, (for details about 2M and further information about the maps) on 07860 481368