Tuesday, December 01, 2009

PRESS RELEASE: Controversial New City Airport Flight Path to be Reviewed

A controversial new City Airport flight path, introduced earlier this year, is to be reviewed. In a letter to the campaign group Fight the Flights, the Civil Aviation Authority, has said that the flight path will be reviewed next year.

The flight path has resulted in flights taking off from City Airport flying over many areas on East London for the first time. Amongst the areas affected are Leytonstone, Wanstead, Newbury Park and parts of Havering. The boroughs of Waltham Forest and Redbridge have formally complained that they were not properly consulted.

The Civil Aviation Authority has told Fight the Flights that a review of the flight path will need to be carried out approximately a year after it was installed on 7th May 2009. Amongst the things the review will examine is the impact of people on the ground.

Anne-Marie Griffin, Chair of Fight the Flights, said, “We welcome this review. We want to make sure that residents get their opportunity to have their say about the affect the new flight path has had on their lives. Most people had no idea that the flight path was changing.”

ENDS

Press Release dated: 1 December 2009

Notes to the Editor:

London City Airport Fight the Flights is a non party political group made up of residents from across the boroughs whom are negatively affected by the expansion of London City Airport.

In September 2009 Fight the Flights, with the assistance of Friends of the Earth's Rights and Justice Centre, launched a legal challenge against the London Borough of Newham regarding the legality of their decision to allow a 50% increase in flights from the airport.

Fight the Flights is anti expansion, not anti aviation.