Concerns over Bournemouth Airport night flights
20.07.07
Fears are growing that the tranquil Hampshire countryside is about to be shattered by noisy Bournemouth Airport bound flights. The concerns were raised after National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the flight routing firm, released details of plans to fly planes over a number of Hampshire villages at night from next April.
NATS says that the changes will result in fewer delays for passengers using Central Southern England's two regional airports - Bournemouth and Southampton - but Roy Perry, a councillor at one of the villages affected, Romsey, has expressed concerns.
Mr. Perry said: 'In the area in and around Romsey, we face a double whammy from aircraft noise. Southampton Airport is proposing large increases in flights and now the National Air Traffic Services is wanting to bring the flightpath over quiet rural areas around the town.'
NATS says a new corridor, at around 6,000 feet, has to be created where aircraft can be split into north-south flows to primarily Bournemouth Airport, with a few to Southampton Airport. Pilots will only be able to enter this airspace if directed by air traffic control.
The proposed new flight corridor covers an area measuring five by 14 nautical miles between NATS says the main changes are aimed at reducing the level of flight delays caused by an area of 'complex traffic interaction' in the vicinity of Compton navigational beacon, near Newbury. Romsey and Andover. It is an extension of existing controlled airspace linking the Midlands with the South.
A spokesman said skies above the area were currently a 'bottleneck' and the proposed changes would minimise delays at the region's airports and free up more airspace. He added: 'At peak periods, the number of aircraft that can safely be permitted to fly through this airspace is less than the number that wish to do so. The proposed airspace change will allow for traffic to Bournemouth and Southampton airports to be separated into north-south flows.'
Anyone worried about the proposals can write to NATS by August 10, at TCSW Consultation Coordinator, NATS, CTC Mailbox 5A, 4000 Parkway, Whiteley, Hants PO 15 7FL. For more information visit www.nats.co.uk.
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