Stansted Airport is currently consulting on its plan to tackle aircraft noise for the next five years, and members of the public are invited to have their say.
The Noise Action Plan (NAP) consultation asks people to either comment on the airport's proposals or suggest their own proposals for reducing the impact of noise.
Stansted Airport Watch (SAW) encourages residents and both parish and town councils to comment on the draft Stansted NAP before the consultation closes at midnight on Monday, August 28.
All major UK airports have a legal duty to produce noise action plans every five years, and to consult with the public.
After reviewing Stansted's noise reduction proposals, SAW noise advisor Martin Peachey said: "My main criticism of Stansted Airport’s proposed NAP is that it lacks ambition.
"It contains 50 so-called 'actions' but these are generally of a minor issue and many are quite meaningless.
"All too often STAL only gives a commitment 'to consider', 'to review', 'to monitor' or 'to discuss', and so on.
"The commitments need to be much more meaningful and more ambitious."
SAW believes that if Stansted Airport wants to bring about a significant reduction in the negative impact of aircraft noise, it should commit to the following:
- Phasing out all night flights over the five-year period of the plan.
- Banning the use of reverse thrust (i.e. putting engines into reverse to reduce braking on landing, which creates substantial noise.)
- Banning the noisiest types of aircraft - known as QC4 - both day and night.
- Doubling the fines on aircrafts for breach of noise limits and not adhering to designated flight tracks, then doubling the fines again during the five-year plan.
- Giving a clear commitment to reducing the number of households affected by aircraft noise.
- Publishing quantified measurable noise reduction targets with timescales, such as noise contour reduction percentages.
Martin continued: "It’s profoundly disappointing that STAL (London Stansted Limited) has not taken this opportunity, which only arises once every five years, to commit itself to making fundamental improvements to reduce the noise impact of its operations on local residents.
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"We can only hope that STAL will be prepared to improve upon its current proposals in the light of comments it receives during this consultation period.
"I would strongly encourage local residents to have their say, and to do so as soon as possible because time is short."
A Stansted Airport spokesperson said: "The Noise Action Plan is an important document for London Stansted, and the views and comments of stakeholders who have an interest in the airport are an important part of our planning process.
"We are committed to being open in sharing our plan and ensuring that it considers the views of the airport’s users and neighbours.
"We will review all feedback to shape the final draft Noise Action Plan which will be submitted to Defra in October 2023."
The consultation document is available at https://www.stanstedairport.com/community/noise/noise-action-plan/.
Comments should be sent to community@stanstedairport.com with the subject line 'Noise Action Plan consultation'.
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