Last Friday, before the disaster occurred at Buncefield and this week turned into the busiest week of my Parliamentary life so far, local Councillor Bert Chapman and I attended a meeting with Luton Airport management to discuss the problems of low flying aircraft over the villages of Markyate, Flamstead and Gaddesden Row.
We were met by Kathryn James (Managing Director), Natalie Raper (Marketing Director) and Neil Thompson (Airport Environment Manager). First they kindly took us on a tour of newly-completed areas of the airport terminal. This was followed by a formal meeting where we raised concerns about excessive aircraft noise. The lives of many residents of Markyate, in particular, are blighted by noisy aircraft most usually just after take-off and quite often at around 2am in the morning. We also raised additional concerns about fuel being jettisoned which some residents believe have affected clothes that had been hung out to dry.
We had a fruitful discussion and the airport management told us they were keen to find a solution to the problems and some changes are in hand. Most notably, the 3km-wide flight path – that currently overflies both Markyate and Flamstead – will soon be reduced to a 500m corridor running comfortably between the villages. This is because new GPS (Global Positioning Systems) are being installed to replace radio beacons. Trials have already been carried out in other areas and the narrower flight corridor should dramatically limit the effects of noise. The airport management tell me this will still be effective even if the new runway alignment goes ahead.
I stressed that this must be implemented as soon as possible and it is hoped this will be in place in about 6 months time. The sooner this is installed, the sooner we will find out if it reduces noise.
We asked about jettisoning fuel and the airport management believes that no aircraft operating from Luton currently has the capability to jettison fuel – although they need to contact aircraft operators and will confirm this to me in writing. We need to identify the contaminant causing any local pollution, so I insisted that airport authorities monitor pollution in this particular area. They have now agreed to do this in order to try to identify if it is aircraft that are responsible.
We also raised residents’ concerns about the inevitable increase in traffic congestion on local roads as a result of any airport expansion. We stressed the need for a full survey of the impact on local transport infrastructure as we feel this has not been properly addressed.
We have to strike a balance between the economic advantages of having an airport nearby with the environmental impact this has on our lives. The management told me that in 2005, a total of 173,417 passengers passing through the airport were residents of Dacorum. As the number of air passengers increases in the coming years and with plans to expand the airport, it is vital that air travel companies operate to within acceptable guidelines. I will be monitoring developments closely and will keep Markyate residents fully informed.
A map of the existing 3km flight path and a map showing actual flight paths for a typical 24 hour period provided to me by the airport management is posted on my website www.mikepenning.com/campaigns/aircraftnoise/ | 
