In a freedom of information request to Newham Council it has been revealed that complaints made directly to them about noise from London City Airport have risen by a massive 2,650% over a period of 5 years.
Whilst Newham Council and London City Airport have gone to great pains to justify expansion, they have often claimed that complaint levels were low, alledgedly suggesting that there had not been any real increase in complaint levels over the years.
Even more shockingly, this massive increase only represents those complaints made directly to Newham Council. It does NOT include complaints made directly to London City Airport, National Air Traffic Systems, MPs, Councillors, the Civil Aviation Authority or any other London Borough such as Redbridge, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, Barking & Dagenham, Bexley and Waltham Forest to name a few affected. We can therefore assume that this figure is just the tip of the iceberg.
To our knowledge these figures have never been made public before and indicate the increasing negative effect, and rise in complaints due to a continued increase in flights, and the use of jets at London City Airport. If we compare the increase to the percentage increase in the use of larger, noisier jets at London City Airport, there is a clear correlation.
Air Transport Movements – % of Jets Used at London City Airport - Provided by the Civil Aviation Authority:
2004 - 28%
2005 - 36%
2006 - 37%
2007 - 50%
2008 - 58%
2009 - [without data]
In 2004 there were just 28% of jets at the airport. By 2007 when the jets made up 50% of flights out of London City Airport complaints more than doubled in one year. With the last percentage of jets being stated at 58% by the CAA in 2008, and complaints having increased by over 2000% since, then it is clear evidence that the activities of London City Airport are disturbing and affecting the quality of life for more and more east and south east Londoners than ever before. What is more this snapshot of complaints from just one source shows that residents complaints have been growing incredibly fast, and have clearly been ignored and played down by Newham Council in discussions over London City Airport expansion.
FTF will be carrying out further research on the amount of complaints which are being received regarding London City Airport and we will report back with updates.
