LONDON, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- London Assembly Environment Committee said on Wednesday in a new report that the air traffic growth at Britain's biggest airport, London Heathrow, should be halted.
The committee said noise nuisance levels are unacceptable and called for a halt on all air traffic growth at Heathrow and London City airports.
Heathrow has recently announced plans for 25,000 extra flights a year, bringing new areas of London under its flight paths. Meanwhile, London City Airport, in the middle of its own significant expansion, saw record passenger numbers in 2018.
But as the appetite for air travel grows, so does the misery for those who have no choice but to live with a debilitating noise invasion., says the committee in its report Aircraft Noise published today.
The report builds on evidence given by residents who told the committee of a dawn chorus of disruption that continued well after their children's bedtime. The report details the impact of altitude, flight paths and out-of-hours flights on the noise landscape.
Assembly member Caroline Russell, chair of the Environment Committee, said: "The experiences of residents living with the daily nightmare of overhead noise are deeply worrying. There are significant health impacts that follow from an inability to sleep, relax and concentrate.
"This drive towards filling airspace capacity must be checked. For too many people, including children, aircraft noise is a major dominant intrusion into their everyday lives. It is not an acceptable price to pay for air travel. It isn't right and must be challenged.
"We have already made clear our objection to the expansion of Heathrow but aviation authorities and operators must prioritise the health and well-being of Londoners and give us a break."
The recommendations in Aircraft Noise report calls on the Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise to use lower thresholds for disturbance, allowing residents to leave their windows open when they need to.
It adds air traffic at Heathrow and London City should not increase and Heathrow's third runway should not go ahead.
It also calls for air traffic controllers to minimise continuous stacking and maximise descent and ascent to keep aircraft further from the ground for longer. They should also minimise overlap between City and Heathrow flight paths.
There should also be no night flights, and restrictions on early morning flights should be strengthened, with all London airports providing predictable periods of respite.
